Strike Witches: The final fight for world peace
by E2Fan32110
Summary: After pushing the Neuroi out of Karlsland, the fight comes to an stalemate. Now, the 501st Joint Fighter Wing is helping, to fight the last battles, together with a new member of the group. But what they will find over the course of their stay in Orussia, will make them see the whole war in a different light
1. Chapter 1

"Relocating?"

"New Recruit?"

"Yes. The Enemy has grown in size since the liberation of Romagna. We need the 501st at the main line of defense to form a strong defense against them."

"And since Miyafuji can fight again, we can ensemble the whole 501st JFW. Also, this recruit will have nearly the same magic energy level as Miyafuji has. Now, you are going to move into your new base in the Ural mountains. The new recruit will be joining you in 3 days. That's all." Said the General as Mio and Minna walked out of the room.

It was now 6 months since the 501. Joint Fighter Wing was reassembled, and since then, the Neuroi had been pushed back fairly far, so that they only controlled the land stripe between the Ural and the Pacific. Even though this doesn't seems like much, they were now concentrated to defend what they had claimed, and tried everything to get 'their' land back. Since then, the war was in stalemate, with no land lost or taken. The 501st JFW was situated in Karlsland for quite some time, with only some smaller fights here and there, but now, it would be back to the battle front again, and with an new face too!

"Well, I guess we should rally them all up, if we want to be in Orussia in 3 days." Sighted Minna.

"Who would have thought that the 501. would get a new recruit again, so shortly before the war ends?" Asked Mio.

"No one would. Now, I'm going to make a few radio calls, and go pack my stuff. Hope the newbie won't be any trouble." Said Minna and walked of.

\- 3 days later; Ural mountains, 1100 Hours –

In front of an old looking, but well kept mansion, stood a group of 5 girls, all waiting for their higher ups too arrive.

"Couldn't they send us somewhere where it isn't cold?!" Grumbled a smaller girl, who was clinging to an other, much taller girl.

"Quit your whining Francesca, and concentrate on keeping warm. Who was the genius who send us up here and let's us stand for 2 hours in front of an old iron gate?!" Said a bigger girl, with glasses.

"That would be me. Sorry to let you all wait out here, but the snow is terrible up here!" Came a voice, and Minna stepped up to the group.

"It's alright, were fine. Just get this blasted gate open, so we can go warm up inside!" Chuckled the taller girl.

"Still no manners, like always." Came a critical voice behind them, as two girls in Karlsland uniform stepped up to the group.

"And I see that you still got an stick up your-"

"Anyways, do you guys know where Miyafuji, Eila and Sanya, are? They should have been here by now." Said a timid girl, and looked into the snow. She couldn't see far, as the falling snow blocked most of the view after a while, but she could here something.

"Do you hear… Chuffing?" She asked.

"I thought I was hearing things, so I didn't mention it but, yeah, it sound quite like a steam locomotive." Said Perrine

"Maybe we're close to some railway tracks? These regions needs strong locomotives to climb the hills, so it wouldn't be surprising to hear one." Suggested Mio.

"Can't be. The region is only accessible via road; the next railway line is more than 10 miles away!" Said Minna.

They all listened carefully as the chuffing grew louder and louder, till, out of the mist, came two, bright yellow lights, heading towards them. The lights, turned out to be lamps, that were fitted to an small, green, 0-4-0 steam locomotive. The engine slowed to an stop, and out of the cab stepped…

"Eila?!" Asked Shirley.

"Sanya?!" Asked Erica.

"Yoshika!" Exclaimed Lynette and ran to her friend, hugging her tightly.

Then, another person came out of the cab, this time, it was a boy. He had short, black hair, a old, Karlsland railway hat on his head, stubble's around his mouth and chin, and, instead of a pair of legs, a Striker Unit. He walked up to the group.

"Hello there. My name is Lukas Romstein, and I'm going to be your new team member." Said the boy friendly.

The girls were surprised. They never had a male member in their Unit; this could be the first male Striker ever! Finally, Minna found her voice.

"Welcome to the 501. Joint Fighter Wing Lukas. I'm Minna Wilcke, and I'm the commander of the 501.." She said, but was cut short when an icy wind blew around them.

"I would say we do the introducing inside." Quivered Erica, and she, as well as Mio and Minna, walked up to the mansions doors.

"Good Idea. Let me just bring Emma inside. It isn't good for her to stay out in the cold." Said Lukas and walked back to the loco.

"Who's Emma?" Asked Yoshika.

"Oh, ja, stupid of me. This is Emma, or: Experimental mobile material Assistant. Or in other words: She is an experimental steam locomotive design with an inbuilt Striker Unit." Smiled Lukas, as he got into the cab.

"Wait. Do you want to say, that this small toy train is a Striker Unit?!" Asked Gertrud.

"1. She isn't a toy train. 2. She isn't just a Striker Unit; she is a locomotive, Striker Unit and my lifeline!" Said Romstein with pride, and drove the engine into the front yard of the mansion. As the small engine passed them, they saw that the wheels of the loco weren't touching the ground, but more hovering over them. Emma rolled into the yard in front of the mansion, and stopped there.

"Well, your coming?! Or do you want to become human snowmen?!" Laughed Lukas and walked into the building.

The others stood there, for just a minute, before following the boy into the mansion. They went inside, but it was very dark.

"Where is the light switch?" Asked Yoshika.

"Already on it- Ouch!" Came a voice, and the light went on, showing Romstein, rubbing his head.

"Who was the genius to put a light switch directly under a lamp iron?!" Asked Lukas.

The girls looked up, just to see the lamp iron, with an dent the size of Lukas' head in it.

"Are you feeling alright?" Asked Lynette, slightly shocked to see Romstein still standing.

"Yeah, why'd you ask?"

Lynette said nothing, just pointed at the lamp iron. Lukas looked at it and laughed.

"Oh, that thing won't take me down." He laughed and hit himself on the head, only to hear a metallic sound.

"Metal plate, have it, with my Striker, since 1941." Smiled the boy, and looked around.

"Hm, seen worse. Could do with a good cleaning, and a better connection to the world, but I think it will do. I go and search for the kitchen, to make some tea. Who wants some?" He asked, and laughed again when he saw all the hands go up.

The others went to the main hall of the mansion, where they waited for they're new recruit. He returned with an large plate with mugs on them, and handed to each of them. It was then, that Mio and Minna came back.

"Ok, I got the telephone back to work again, and contacted HQ. They said were to stay here, and bring this place back in order, so that we can fight against the Neuroi, and force them out of Orussia. Now, HQ also wants to get this place connected to the outer world more, and ordered some workers to build a rail line up here." Said Minna to the others. Romsteins ears perked up, when he heard the last part.

"When are they going to start, laying down the rails?" He asked.

"They will start, as soon as the snow has stopped falling." Said Mio.

"Good. If they need any help with the work, let them know I'm willing to help them." Smirked Lukas.

"I will inform them. Now, we need to get this place back in order. Yoshika, Lynette, Perrine, you will start on the lower levels. Gertrud, Erica, you will go out and check the grounds. Francesca, Charlotte, Lukas, you will go and search the sheds for any space to store the Strikers in. Eila and Sanya will start on the upper levels. I and Mio will set up a command station in one of the rooms." Minna said and walked of, with Mio following behind her.

Lukas, Charlotte and Francesca were out in the snow, walking to the sheds that were behind the mansion. The ground behind the mansion was on a plateau, which was why they were to set up the base there. Lukas was driving in Emma, with the two girls beside him.

"You really don't want to ride inside her? She won't bite you know." Chuckled Romstein.

"Don't worry. We'll be alright just walking." Smiled Shirley, and looked to her right, just to see that Francesca wasn't there anymore.

"Huh? Where is she?"

"I'm here silly!" Shirley looked to the engine, just to see the young girl sitting on the running plate of the engine.

"It's warm here!" Shouted the girl.

Lukas chuckled, while Shirley just rolled her eyes, but said nothing. They soon reached the sheds, and looked inside it.

"Well, a bit old, but it's roof is in good shape, and it isn't cold in here. Perfect for storing the Strikers and Emma!" Said Romstein and walked further into the building. Suddenly, there was a low groaning sound, followed by an crack, and parts of the roof, falling onto Lukas.

"LUKAS!" Cried the two girls, but sighed in relief as they saw the boy, standing stiffly, in the middle of the pile of rubble.

"I HATE it when stuff like this happens!" He groaned, just to get a large amount of snow on his head, as part of the snow from the roof fell in.

The girls just stood there, trying their best not to laugh, but failed miserably.

"Jaja, I know. Very funny. First thing I'm gona do when the rails are set is to get a supply train with wood and other things for the house. When you see the others, tell them to make a list of what they need, and what they want. I will bring the needed things, and look if I can get the wanted things." Said Lukas as he shook the snow of his body.

He walked back to the door, till he stopped again.

"Also, there's another thing." Smirked Romstein.

"What is it?" Asked Francesca.

Suddenly, they were both hit by an snowball. They looked in the direction of they're new comrade, just to see him armed with a snowball in one hand, and a load of others in his other arm.

"Run" he smirked, and threw the ball.

After two hours, the snow stopped falling, but the sky was still covered with thick gray clouds. The house was cleaned up now, and they were all sitting at the long table in the dining room, waiting for the Charlotte, Francesca and Lukas. The doors opened, and in came the three scavengers, with red faces, and snow in their hair and on their clothes.

"What did you take so long? And why are you covered in snow?" Asked Mio.

"We found a good shed, but it's roof broke in. As for the snow, we-" Started Charlotte, but Lukas butted in.

"We went to look for another one, but slipped, and landed face first in the snow. That's why." He said calmly, and winked at Charlotte.

"Ok. Now, since we don't have any place for the Strikers to be stored at the moment, they will be left at the station till the railway is finished. Until then, I hope none Neuroi will attack us, or we'll be in serious trouble." Said Minna.

"For now, you should pick your rooms. Dismissed." Said Minna, and walked of.

"Well, seems good for me, but I don't really need my own room. Emma might be small, but there is enough space in her to sleep in. So, I will sleep in my engine." Smiled Romstein and walked of.

The girls started to go to the upper levels, where the rooms were. After setting up who would be with who, they all started to get their stuff. The rooms weren't as big as the ones in the base from Britannia or Romagna, but they were just as comfy, with old, wooden cupboards and with wooden beds. The girls were just about to take out their stuff, when they heard a chuffing noise from behind the house. They all looked out of the Windows, to see Emma, standing outside the sheds, with only some light clouds of steam, coming from underneath her. Suddenly, her lamps went on, and her steam color changed into an light blue. The air around her sizzled lightly with small lightning bolts. Then came a very deep whistle, as started to move. She went faster and faster, speeding along the long straight behind the house, till she started to rise into the air, racing against the clouds. The girls all ran out and looked at the sky, amazed at what they saw.

"I can't believe it…" Said Gertrud.

"It really can fly!" Squeaked Francisca.

"A flying locomotive. Mio, do you know something about this?" Asked Minna.

"Dr. Miyafuji experimented with the Striker technology, trying to build it into machines to make them better for the battlefield. I always thought he abandoned the project, after he finished the Strikers…" Said Mio.

The locomotive turned back, and started to dive down towards the girls. The whistle blew, and the girls just stared in awe as the small engine rocketed past them, with an unbelievable speed.

"Looks like you've got concurrence, Liberion." Smiled Gertrud.

"What? He might be fast, but I'm still the fastest." Said Shirley, and walked away.

Lukas slowed his engine down, and hovered next to the girls. He sat on the footplate, smiling at the small crowd.

"Well, what do you think? Pretty neat huh?" He smiled.

"You were fast!" Said Yoshika.

"Not really. I only made 850km/h." Said Lukas.

"850 km/h!?" Repeated the girls, not believing what they had heard.

"But that means, that this engine here is the fastest locomotive in the whole world!" Said Perrine.

"Not really. While in the air, she is counted as a plane, not a locomotive. And I won't let her run at that speed on the ground. I would need at least a straight stretch of track for 10 km to get that speed on land, and even so; the tracks would either melt, or break if I would run over them at that speed!" Said Romstein with seriousness.

"I see. Well, I hope you are ready to move. The workmen are needing assistance with the work on the tracks. You need to get to the station and collect they're working material, or they cant finish the tracks in time." Said Minna.

"Don't worry Ma'am, consider it done!" Smiled Lukas and stood up again, and with some twisting of levers and wheels, Emma started off again. Charlotte had seen everything, and was fuming.

'I'm the fastest here, I'll show them! I will get my Striker, and beat that stupid idiot in a race!' Thought Shirley, and got onto her bike, and started to drove down the mountain.

-New Republiska Train Station, 1400 Hours-

Shirley arrived at the Station, and went to the storage room, to get her Striker. But when she reached it, the Strikers weren't there anymore! She looked around, but could only find an old workman, who was cleaning the place.

"Excuse me! Could you tell me where the Strikers are?!" Shirley asked the man, who turned around, and looked at her.

"Chto?" Asked the man with an Russian accent.

"The Strikers! The machines that stood here! Where are they?! She asked again.

"Oh, Da! A Boy took them; he said he brings them to their owners. Loaded them onto a train." Said the old man.

"Drat! Now I can't get my Merlin!" She cursed to herself.

"Njet! Train still here!" Said the man, and showed Shirley a small train, with some log transporters and a closed goods truck.

"Perfect! I can still take my Striker!" She said, and walked out again, after thanking the man. She pushed her bike into the wagon, and went to her Striker.

"Good to see you old boy. It's time to get busy again!" Smiled Shirley and put the Striker on. But before she could start, there was a jerk, and she felt the train moving.

"Not now!" She said, and looked out of the truck, just to see Emma, pulling the train down the line.

-Rail head near the 501. Joint Fighter Units base, 1445 Hours-

Lukas braked Emma to an halt near the end of the nearly finished line. He jumped out and walked over to the workman, who were having a break, while waiting for the new material to arrive. The young man was just talking to one of the workman, when he heard the sound of one of the doors from the train opening. He turned around, just to see Shirley, white as chalk and shaking from head to toe.

"Shirley? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to stay at the base?" Asked Lukas.

Shirley wanted to answer him, but couldn't, as a silent humming came up, followed by the loud explosion, as a Neuroi attacked the workmen. They screamed, and ran for their lives. Lukas raced back to Emma, uncoupled her, and climbed on board.

"SHIRLEY! STOP WAISTING YOUR TIME AND MOVE! WE NEED TO STOP THAT THING!" Shouted Romstein and whistling loudly, Emma started off. Shirley snapped back to real live, and ran back into the wagon. She grabbed her BAR M1918 and started off, towards the Neuroi.

The Neuroi was not big, only a medium type, but Lukas didn't care. They attacked innocent people, and the railways too! 'That were two things too many, and they will pay!' Thought Lukas and let Emma race towards the Neuroi. He turned to an closed cabin, and opened it, pulling out a very strange looking M1903 Springfield sniper rifle. It had a strange scope on it, bigger than normal ones had, and instead of an 5 Clip, in build ammo holder, it had an 15 bullet magazine, build into it.

"Let's grill some bastards" Smirked Romstein, turned to the controls, and pressed a button.

"I'm counting on you Emma. Don't fail me now." He said, and climbed onto the roof.

He stood up, and looked through his scope. He flicked a switch on the scope, and the Neuroi was invisible, with only its core visible.

'Gotcha' smirked Romstein and flipped the switch again. Just then, Shirley landed next to him.

"What are you doing up here?! You need to drive!" Shouted Shirley.

"I don't think so!" Laughed Lukas, and out of the running plate came two Browning M1918 MGs.

"What-?!" Began the Liberion, but was cut short as the Neuroi opened fire on them.

"No time to lose! The core is in the top left hand corner! I open it, Emma distracts it, and you destroy it! Now MOVE!" Shouted the Karlsland boy, and took of.

'No time to lose…' Thought Shirley, and took of as well.

Emma raced as fast as she could, drawing the Neurois Fire onto her. Lukas hovered in a distance, looking through his scope, and aiming the core.

"EAT FIRE PATRONS YOU BASTARD!" He cried, and pulled the trigger.

It hit the place where the core was, and a small explosion blasted some of the armor away. Shirley raced as fast as she could, and fired at the core. The core splintered into pieces, and the Neuroi dissolved into a million little pieces.

Emma slowed down and stopped next to Lukas. He opened the door, and stepped inside, falling onto the makeshift bed he build.

"Onto the tracks Emma, we need to finish the line, or were stuck up there all day tomorrow." Romstein murmured.

The engine soon reached firm land again, and the workmen congratulated him and Shirley. The workmen soon started to build the last pieces of track, and by sunset, the line was finished. Lukas uncoupled the truck with the Strikers in them, and a log transporter, and brought the workmen back to New Republiska.

After arriving back at the base, the young engineer went inside the mansion, to get something to eat. Before he could however, he was swarmed by the others, who all asked him questions about, how he was able to drive his engine without being in it, how he could see where the core was and such things. He groaned to himself, and started to answer the questions.

"I didn't drive Emma, she drove herself. She has an Autopilot program build inside of her, so she could run whenever she likes. I could see the core, because of my guns scope. It has a special lens, that can see right through the hull of an Neuroi, and can show you where the core is. It was one of the weapons Dr. Miyafuji developed, to make the battle less problematic for the witches. I am lucky to have them; I took them with me for testing on the day of the accident." Said Romstein, whispering the last part.

"You said that your engine is your life line. What does that mean?" Asked Gertrud.

"I was in an accident myself once. I, and some others, were collecting a shipment for the Doctor, from the docks. It was terrible busy back then, with cars, lorries and locomotives all rushing about. It was then when a lorry rushed into the harbor. I had enough time to jump out of the way, but I jumped into the path of an passing engine. The loco had cut my legs clean off. Doctor Miyafuji had offered me a second chance, and I gladly took it. Reason why I worked for him was, because I had witch magic inside me, just not as big and powerful as the witches are. He gave me the Strikers, so I could fly, and walk. They are a special design, with boot-like ends. But my power was too low to really fly, or fight. So he build in a special, steam driven booster system. That's why he designed Emma; so I could recharge my steam energy whenever and wherever I needed it. I owe him my life. I just wish I could have saved him." He explained.

The girls were amazed by the story they heard.

"He also gave my Striker a name: Steam surfer 01. I like it, even though the other teased me about it. Calling me 'Steamboy' and such. I quite like the name though. Fits to me." He chuckled, and yawned.

"We should probably go to bed now. I will repair the shed tomorrow, and get the stuff you guys need. Did you wrote your lists?" He asked, as the girl went pale.

"Um, we need to… We need to go!" Said Yoshika, and her and the others raced away.

"I think I will enjoy fighting with this lot." Lukas thought to himself, as he walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

That night, Shirley woke up, as she needed a glass of water. She went to the kitchen, and poured herself a glass full of the liquid. After downing it, she started going back to her room, only to hear some commotion from the backyard. She sneaked outside, and saw Lukas, lying underneath Emma. She walked up to the locomotive, and looked down to the engineer.

"What are you doing?" She asked, which startled the one in question.

Lukas came up from underneath his engine, and stood up.

"Oh, its you. I'm just doing some maintenance. She needs it every time after flying. Her Striker Unit is a prototype; It's only because I do repairs every day that she can still fly. But, I need my sleep, and so, my dear Yankee, do you." Grinned Romstein, and got back into the engines cab, closing the door behind him.

"Yankee?!" Exclaimed Shirley. She was never called like this before.

The morning came soon, and with it, a hard day full of work. Lukas was up early, and started work on the shed right away. The others were starting off with training; the whole time on stand by let them go rusty on their skills. Yoshika, Lynette and Perrine were pretty much worn out when they came back to the mansion.

"I have forgot how hard this is!" Wheezed Yoshika.

"I need something to drink, and maybe a bath!" Exclaimed Lynette.

"Well, the bath isn't here, but I made lunch for all!" Came Romsteins voice, and he showed the girls a pan with small potato pieces in it.

"What is that?" Asked Yoshika.

"Its called _Bratkartoffeln_. Its made out of potatoes and seasoned with all kinds of spices. I made those quite often when it was just me and Emma, as well as other typical Karlslander dishes!" Smiled the engineer, and gave them each a plate with _Bratkartoffeln_ , tomatoes and prickles. He sat next to them with his own plate, and dug in right away.

"You can't beat the classics..." He smiled, and closed his eyes in delight.

The others each took a spoon of the potato pieces, and tried them.

"Mmmmmhhh, they're good!" Exclaimed Yoshika.

"If not a bid spicy." Added Lynette.

"Indeed, they are a bid hot." Said Perrine.

"That's no wonder! I used many different spices for them, some of them are spicy, like curry or paprika. Also, I added my special spice; it always makes them taste just right, not too feeble, but not too strong either; crunchy on the outside, but still soft on the inside." Explained Lukas, and finished his plate.

"The only problem I have is to find a suitable drink to down it. I tried many, but they all didn't fit to it." Pouted the boy and cleaned the table.

"You will find them one day for sure!" Said Yoshika.  
"Aye, but when?" He asked, as the Alarm went off.

"Neuroi?! Again?! They only attacked yesterday!" Moaned Romstein, and raced off to the shed.  
The others were already waiting in front of it.

"There is a Neuroi spotted, a few miles away from here. It already attacked another Striker squad from the 496th, but they need help to defeat it. Romstein, Miyafuji, Bishop, Clostermann! You go out and help them. This will get you back in form, and we can see how well Lukas is in fighting. Now go!" Said Minna, and with that, the four got to their Strikers, and engine.

"Yoshika Miyafuji, ready!"  
"Lynette Bishop, ready!"  
"Perrine Clostermann, ready!"

"Lukas Romstein, ready!"  
"DEPART!" They all said, simultaneously, and started off.

While the three girls were quickly in the sky, Emma took her time, but soon set for the sky herself. They were soon near the place where the 496th JFW was fighting. Lukas started the Autopilot again, and stood on the cab again.

"Listen here: I search the core, you guys distract it with Emma. Once I found it, shoot at the place, and don't stop till the core is free." Said Lukas via the ear plugs.

"Sounds good to me." Said Perrine, and started firing, the other two, and Emma, joint in shortly afterwards.

Romstein hovered in the sky, looking through the scope, searching for the core.

"I can't see it." He finally said.

"WHAT?!" Asked the other three.

"I can't see it! There is no core there! That thing is a prob!" He said, exasperated.

"If that's just a prob, wheres the real one?!" Asked Perrine.

-Meanwhile, at the base-

"They should have destroyed it by now." Said Minna.

"Yes, but I still feel the presence of an Neuroi." Said Sanya.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all..." Murmured Gertrud.

"Cheer up Trude! Everything will be fine!" Exclaimed Erica, trying to cheer her up.

Suddenly, there came a loud blast, and a piece of ground was blast away. They all looked up, just to saw a big Neuroi, which looked like a bomb, heading their way.

"What?! How did that came past the outpost?!" Asked Mio.

"Maybe it slipped under their eyes when the smaller one attacked?" Said Minna.

"Anyways, get into your Strikers! We can't let them get further into our territory!" The Commander continued and started to run to the shed.

They started off, and began to fight against the big Neuroi, but it was well armed, and had very tough Armour.

"We don't have enough firepower to get that one down!" Shouted Erica to Minna, as she dogged another laser beam.

"I know! But we can't let that one past us! We need to hold out till reinforcements arrive!" Shout the Minna.

'I just hope they come back in time...'

They fought hard, but every time they could burst open a layer of Armour, there was another just underneath it.

"I'm nearly out of ammo!" Said Gertrud.

"Me too!" Cried Francesca.

"Makes three of us!" Came Shirley's voice.

"We can't fight any longer, or were done for!" Shouted Mio to Minna.

'Come on! Where are you guys?!' thought the Commander.

"Distance: 2000m, wind: 2.8, speed: 40km/h, slowly rising. Core: right in the middle, surrounded by the toughest Armour. Two go in, two will snipe its hull."

The Neuroi now started to shoot with all its weapons, seemingly wanting to end the battle. The girls closed, their eyes, knowing that there was nothing else to do; their weapons were empty and their magic was just keeping them in the air. The Neuroi fired, but it didn't hit them. They opened their eyes, to see two shield in front of them, made from Yoshika and Perrine.

"Yoshika? Perrine? Where did you to came from?!" Asked Eila.

"No time to talk! Get out of here! We take care of this one!" Shouted Yoshika, as the Neuroi stopped fire.

"We can't let you here all alone!" Said Mio.

"Were not alone!" Smiled Perrine, as two shots crashed into the Neuroi, blasting big parts of its Armour out.

"Nice one Lynette. I couldn't do that without my scope." Smiled Romstein, as he stood onto of Emma, looking through his scope, while Lynette hovered next to him, looking through the eyesight of her gun.

"Now, to finish this." The engineer said, and pulled out the magazine, putting in a deep black one in, with the words "DANGER" written over it.

"What is that?" Asked Lynette.

"Special designed bullets. Can penetrate a 20cm thick steel plate on a distance of 3000+ meters. It needs a lot of work to make them, that's why I only use them in emergencies, and to get this big one down, It will take more than one of those little devils." Smirked Romstein, and aimed at the core.

"Fire when I say so." He said, and took a deep breath.

"NOW!"

Lynette fired her Gun first; it hit perfectly. The small blast that Lynette's Bullet made was Romsteins call for action. He pulled the trigger, and was slightly thrown back when the bullet raced out of the barrel. The bullet burst through the hulls of the Neuroi, as if it was paper. It crashed into the core, but it didn't split it. It stuck firmly inside it.

"Oh no." Quivered Lynette, but Lukas was calm.

"Keep looking." He mused, eyes still on the Neuroi.

The Neuroi was turning towards the two snipers now, but stopped, as a light blue light started to glow inside of it. It went stronger and stronger, till the Neuroi burst open, leaving only the core.

"What was that?" Asked Lynette, but there was no answer, as the young engineer already on the move.

Emma was racing towards the core, but the Neuroi was already rebuilding itself.  
'This will be a close one.' Romstein thought.

He leaned out of the cab, with an M1917 Revolver in his hand, aiming for the core. He pulled the trigger, and the bullet flew through the air, and hit the core, splitting it in two.

"Bulls eye!" He cheered, and blasted Emma's whistle.

The rebuild parts of the Neuroi burst into little pieces, while Lukas and Emma slowed down, as they came back to firm grounds again. They stopped right next to where the girls stood.

"Looks like we came just in time aye?" He grinned.

"What happened?" Asked Minna.

"Well, the Neuroi that attacked the 496th was only a prob; a decoy to draw the attention from the real thing away. It took some time to take it out, but after we were finished, we heard the fighting via the communicator. It was more luck than anything else that we got here in time." chuckled the driver.

"Well, we should probably take a rest now. You all must be hungry too; its already 3pm!" Romstein continued, as Erica's stomach started sounding.

"I'll take that as a yes." He grinned, and climbed back into Emma.

-501st JFW Base, 1530 Hours, Dining room-

"Its a long time since I had those." Exclaimed Erica, as she dug into her plate of _Bratkartoffeln_.

"Indeed. Last time we had them, we were disrupted by an Neuroi attack." Chuckled Gertrud.

"Well, then I hope you don't grow bored of them that fast, 'cause I can't do that many dishes." Chuckled Lukas nervously.

"I never knew that army boys could cook that well!" Said Francesca.

"Well kiddo, when you work on the railways, it is usual for us to make ourselves some food on the go. Normally, I would cook on Emma's shovel, but I don't think you would fancy the taste of potatoes and coal dust." grinned the engineer.

"Anyway, I need to go back to my engine. Autopilot might be good for a few minutes, but I can't keep her on that too long, since the automatic fireman is broken." continued Lukas, and walked out of the room, very quickly.

"He's in a hurry." Said Francesca.

"You would too if you had an animal that, if not taken care of, could die at any given moment." Mused Perrine.

"Since when does he have an animal?" Asked the small girl again.

"She didn't meant that Lukas has an animal; But steam locomotives were once called "Iron Horses", and the people who work with them would say that they are living, breathing beings." Explained Minna.

"Exactly." Came the voice of Lukas from down the hall.

"Did he really heard what we said?" Asked Yoshika.

"Yeah, my eyes might not be the best, but with my ears, I could hear a pin drop through a blizzard!" laughed Romstein, followed by the banging of a door.

Lukas walked down the gravel path, towards his engine. Emma was idling in the sheds, waiting for her driver to come back.

"Well old girl, lets get you some water." Smiled the young driver, as he drove the engine towards an old hose, that was near the house.  
He felt his engine starting to vibrate, as if she was shivering.

"I know you don't like hose water, but that's the only water source here. That is, if you don't mind getting snow into your tank." Mused Romstein. Emma stopped vibrating, very shortly after that.

Romstein got out of the cab, and started to put the hose into the tank. He walked back to where the hose connected to the house, and turned on the water. He walked back again, and looked into the tank. Not one drop of water came out of the hose.  
"Strange, must be blocked." Murmured the driver to himself. He took the hose out again, and looked into it.

"I can't see any blocKAAAAAAAA! COLD!" He screamed, as the cold water came out of the hose, and all over him. He threw the hose into the tank, and raced into the cab. He threw himself against the firebox, and felt the warmth of the hot fire.

"Ok, so whoever did this will eat coal dust when I'm through with them!" He growled, but stopped, when he heard some muffled laughter from a bush, next to the line.

He smirked deviously, and looked at the steam pressure.

'More than enough.' He grinned, and opened the brakes, letting Emma roll slowly towards the bushes. When he was directly next to them, he opened a valve, and Steam started to shoot out of Emma, covering the surroundings. Romstein pulled the brakes, and jumped out of the cab, heading towards the bushes. He grabbed into it, and pulled two familiar faces out.

"Shirls. Kiddo. Because I'm a fair player, I will give you a head start of 10 seconds." Said Lukas, with an eerie calmness in his voice.

"But!" Began Francesca.  
"7 seconds."  
"He bluffs." Grinned Shirley.  
"4 seconds."  
"I'm out!" Said Francesca, and raced off.  
"2 seconds."

"Whats going on out-" Began Mio, who came out to see what all that commotion was about.

"Ready or not! Here I come!" Shouted Lukas, and hurtled towards Shirley.

Shirley started off, not wanting to face the wrath of the Karlslander. She went inside, but Lukas was still hot on her tail. She raced through the mansion, passing the others by the way, who looked at here with an quizzed look, till they saw Lukas, racing after her.

"She did it again, didn't she?" Asked Perrine.

"Yes. I saw it from my room. Hes furious." Said Lynette, as the chase went outside again.

Suddenly, Shirley lost footing, as she raced over an patch of ice, slipped, and slid into a snowbank. Lukas walked up to her, a triumphant look on his face.

"Karma is a bitch, aye Shirls? A little advisement for the next time you want to pull of that little stunt: don't try it on me." Smirked Romstein, looking here right into the eyes when saying the last piece.  
He turned around, and walked back towards the mansion.

"Hey! Are you just going to leave me here?!" Asked Shirley, as she tried to get out of the snow drift.

"Why not? Its such a wonderful day to be outside, don't you think?" Smirked Lukas, and walked back into the house, passing the others, who stood by the door, watching the whole scene.

"I think we better not pull one on him on April fools day..." Gulped Francesca. The others, wholeheartedly, agreed.

After getting Shirley out of the snow drift again, they gave her and Francesca a lecturing over their jokes. After that, they were send to their rooms for the rest of the evening.

"Don't you think its a bit to little of an punishment?" Asked Barkhorn.

"Not at all Barky. We need every help we can, and to look up our MG trooper and our speed ace would be a waste of assistance." Said Lukas, as Hartmann started to laugh.

"Barky?! That's a new one! I think it fits you perfectly Barky." Laughed Hartmann, choking on the hot cocoa that Lukas made.

"Careful there, sleepy head. We can't risk losing you to the enemy: dark chocola!" Lukas chuckled, making a dramatic pause before ending the sentence.

"Well, I think I should give our two prisoners some hot drinks too. After all, they are our friends." Smiled Lukas, and picked up a tray with three mugs of hot chocolate.

"They surely having fun..." Said Shirley with an downcast look.

"Why did we pulled of that joke on him?!" Groaned Francesca out.

"I don't know. You said we should do it!" Scolded Shirley, too which the smaller girl shuttered.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Lukas came in.

"Allowance to come in?" Said the Karlslander cheekily as he walked in.

"Seeing that you already entered without our allowance, yes." Grumbled Shirley.

"Now, now, don't pull such angry faces. I've brought you some home made hot chocolate." Grinned Romstein, as he showed them the three mugs.

"CHOCOLATE!" Cheered Francesca, and grabbed one of the mugs greedily.

Shirley rolled her eyes, and took one of the mugs. She took one sip of it, and nearly swallowed the whole mug afterwards.

"That was delicious!" She exclaimed in delight.

"I never knew someone who could stay cross after drinking a mug of my special hot cocoa." Grinned Lukas, and checked his watch.

"Oh, look at the time! I need to get back to the sheds. I am working on a little project, and I hope I can finish it soon." Smiled the young engineer, and went to the door.

"Wait! What kind of project?" Asked Shirley.

"Oh, you'll see." Said Romstein mysteriously.

-3 days later-

The neuroi hadn't made any attack over the next few days, but the girls were kept busy with training and work around the house. Lukas hadn't shown himself over these days, locking himself in the sheds where the Strikers and Emma were stored in. Over the day, heavy working sound would come out of the shed, and in the nights, bright blue lights could be seen, sometimes being followed by an joyous shout, or an hearty curse. That morning, the girls were eating breakfast, when they could see deep black smoke come from the sheds.

"Either the sheds are on fire, or Lukas has completely lost it." Joked Shirley.

"I think one of us should look if hes alright. It has been 3 days since anyone of us saw him!" Said Yoshika.

"Ok, you can go and take a look. You can bring him some breakfast while your at it." Said Trude.

"I-I'll come with you." Said Lynette.

They picked up some bread, cheese and some fruits, and walked to the sheds, out of which, black clouds of smoke poured. Yoshika opened the doors, only for an large cloud of black smoke to pour out of the sheds.

"*cough, cough* Lukas? Are you in here?" Yoshika coughed.

"Yes! I'm here! Come in!" Came a almost manic laugh of the Karlslander, as the two girls entered.

"Whats going on here? Why is there so much smoke?" Asked Lynette.

"Come over here! Once you see him, you will understand!" laughed Lukas.

They walked deeper into the sheds, till they saw, next to their striker units, Romstein, running over a big machine.

"What is that thing?!" Asked Yoshika.

"That "Thing", as you described it, is Emma, or, better said, was Emma. I gave her an upgrade/rebuild. She is still the same engine from before, but now, with some new toys, a better wheel arrangement and boiler, and a better overall appeal!" Grinned Lukas, as he stepped down from the Locomotive, and stepped up to the girls. He looked like he hadn't slept a minuted over the last 3 days, and that was probably true! He had rings under his eyes, he trembled, even though it was pretty warm, and his breathing was uncontrolled.

"Were you awake the last three days?" Asked Lynette.  
"Hell yeah I was! The only thing preventing me to collapse right now is the fact that I have around 3 cans of coffee inside me right now!" Said the tired boy.

"That can't be healthy..." Murmured Lynette.

"Well, anyways! I can't stop now! I have to finish the "Commander" befo-" But before he could finish, his eyes grew wide, and he fell backwards, and against the front of the locomotive.

"Oh no! What happened!?" Asked Lynette.

"He fainted, due to exhaustion! A few hours, or days, of rest, and he'll be fine." Said Yoshika.

"But he can't sleep on the ground. We need to bring him inside." Continued the Sergeant, and walked to his shoulders.

"We'll carry him inside. You take his legs, I take his torso."

They carried the unconscious man back inside to the others, who were shocked to hear what he did.

"I can't believe he didn't slept for over 3 days! He should know better than that! He is an Karlslander soldier after all!" Grumbled Barkhorn.

"Here we go again. At least its not me..." Mumbled Hartmann.

"He needs some place to sleep; and I don't think the dining table is the right place to do that." Said Shirley, as Romstein snored on the table, mumbling words like "right away guard" and "more coal before the tunnel".

"Well, since you brought it up, why don't you let him sleep in your bed?" Suggested Minna.

"WHAT?! WHY?!" Asked a shocked Shirley.

"Because you were the one who brought it up silly." Grinned Hartmann.

"Old Karlslander saying: _Immer der, der es Anspricht_. Always the one who starts to talk about it." Said Gertrud, with a small smile.

Outnumbered by her Teammates, Shirley groaned in defeat, and with Francesca's help, brought the knocked out man to their room. They put him onto their couch, and put a blanket over him.

"Man, not even I am so stupid to work 72 hours straight through!" Grumbled Shirley as they walked out of the room again.

"I wonder what he build in there anyway!" Francesca said.  
"Me too. What do you say? Up for a bit of investigating?" Grinned Shirley, as she got the same grin from Francesca back.

"Man, it looks like a neuroi crashed in here!" Francesca said, as they walked inside.  
"Well, what do we have here?" Asked Shirley as she walked up to the "Commander".

"That must be what he worked on for the last three days. How did he build a complete locomotive in 3 days?!" Continued Shirley as she walked along the engine.

"Wow! It is big!" Said the kid in awe.

"Lets have a look inside it then!" Smiled Shirley and climbed into the cab.

The two girls climbed into the cab, and looked around. It wasn't very spacey, but there was enough room for two people two sit inside it, maybe even six when some wouldn't mind to stand. She saw a big box on the driver side of the engine. She opened it, just to see a collection of weapons, stored inside of it; she even spotted the Springfield rifle Lukas used.

"So he stores his weapons in here! Clever..." She said, looking around. Her eyes fell on a letter, that stuck in a long pipe that stuck out of the firebox. She tried to get it out, but it was stuck tight. She pulled the pipe open, and removed the letter, opening it.

" _Welcome aboard the Steam Powered, 1 man operated Striker Unit for people with low amount of Magic energy. This engine is a further development of the prototype, EMMA. This engine is easier to operate, faster, and consumes less energy than the prototype did. This engine also got an armory upgrade, with two new, powerful Gatling Guns, which are mounted to either sides of the smokebox. With this development, witches, and people with low magical energy, are given the chance to fight against the neuroi, and help in the fight for justice and peace._ " Read Shirley, until she was cut of by Francesca.

"Is it just me, or are we moving?" She asked.

Sure enough, they were moving. The pipe, that Shirley had pulled, was the Steam regulator, which she left wide open.

"Jump!" Shirley said, and the kid obeyed.  
"Shirley!" Screamed Francesca, as Shirley, still inside the locomotive, started down the track.  
Shirley pulled every lever and turned every knob, but nothing slowed the engine down. The other girls came out, as they saw the engine steam past the mansion. The engine speed up, down the line, as it raced away from the mansion, and towards new Republiska.

"Lucchini! What happened?!" Came the demanding voice of Major Sakamoto.

"WejustwantedtoseewhatLukasbuildintheshedandShirleypulledaleverandthatthingjustdid"Chufchufchuf"andracedoff-!" She said, but was cut of by an threatening voice.

"That thing, is my engine."

The "Commander" raced down the line, thundering down the mountains, and heading for new Republiska. Shirley couldn't do anything, but to sit down, and waiting for the engine either to run out of steam, or to crash into another train; she hoped she'd ran out of steam first. The tracks followed the road for nearly 5 miles before reaching new Republiska, which was ideal for little races between Lukas and the resident lorry drivers. From behind her, Shirley could hear a sound; it sounded like a air horn. She looked behind, just to see her motorcycle, racing towards her. Siting on it was no other than Lukas Romstein. Sitting behind him was Yoshika, who volunteered to help in the rescue mission. They drew level with the train, and Romstein shouted over to Shirley.

"SHIRLEY! DON'T WORRY! I WILL GET ON BOARD WHEN WE REACH NEW REPUBLISKA! JUST HOLD ON TIGHT, AND BLOW THE WHISTLE!" And with that, he raced ahead of the runaway, and towards the city.

They soon reached the station, and Lukas jumped off the bike, and into the station agents room.

"Quick! We need to switch the tracks of the line from the 501st HQ to the main line! There's a runaway!" Said the young engineer.

The station agent wasted no time, and got outside, towards the switch block. He pulled the right levers, and the line was set for the main line. Mere seconds later, the "Commander" came into view, and Lukas made himself ready. He stood right at the edge of the Platform, eyeing the runaway locomotive heading for him. As the Cowcatcher passed him, he jumped, and landed on the running board of the loco, grabbing the hand rails firmly. They went onto the main line in a flash, disappearing from view only seconds after. The agent breath a sigh of relieve, but withdrew that a second later, when he looked at the timetable.

"NEJT! I forgot! There is another train on the line! They're heading directly for it!" He cried.

Lukas climbed along the side of the boiler, trying to get to the cab as soon as possible. He opened the cab front door, and fell inside the cab. He fell into his seat, and snoozed in again.

"Not now!" groaned Shirley, and tried to wake him up again. She tried everything she knew, but nothing worked.

Suddenly, there was a low whistle, from down the line. Shirley's eyes widened as she knew what that meant.  
"Come on! Get up! I don't want to die in a train wreck!" Shirley shouted as she shook the young driver fiercely.

She looked out of the window, and saw a column of smoke, in a distance, heading their way. She looked back at the knocked out boy, then back out of the window. She groaned, trying to think of something. Suddenly, it hit her.

"You owe me one you idiot." She whispered, and kissed him right on the lips.

It worked. Lukas' eyes flew up at once, but he didn't said anything, at least for a few moments. He then jumped up, when he heard the other engines whistle. He grabbed the regulator firmly, and shut it. He pulled the brakes, and slowly, the engine slowed down. The other train slowed down too, and stopped, with inches to spare. The driver of the orussian engine climbed down, and walked towards the cab of the, not anymore, runaway.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR PLAYING AT?! YOU NEARLY CRASHED INTO THE TRANS SEBIRIAN EXPRESS YOU KNOW!" Shouted the older engineer angrily.

"Well, for your information, this engine was a runaway, so it WOULD have crashed into you if it wasn't for us. Now come along, we'll give you an escort to new Republiska." Said Lukas casually and climbed back into the "Commander". The other driver mumbled something to himself and got into his engine too. Both engine and express started off again, and soon reached new Republiska, where the "Commander" was diverted onto the line to the base, while the express headed further into the Ural mountains.

After picking up Yoshika, they all drove back up to the base, where they were already expected by Major Sakamoto.

"Were in trouble Shirls." Said Lukas, as he saw the look on the Majors face.

"Why 'we'? I was the one who drove the engine." Asked Shirley.

"Yes, but a) you didn't drove it, you merely pulled the regulator, and b) I worked 72h nonstop, AND let the "Commander" in the shed, without the proper safety equipment added, AND still under steam, so: were both screwed." Explained the driver as he and the two girls climbed down from the engine.

"Flight Lieutenant Yeager! Seeing how you stole military equipment, nearly killed yourself, and an express passenger train, I sentence you to 5 days of latrine shift! As for you, Lieutenant Romstein! For neglecting your personal health, and letting military equipment unattended, I sentence you to 3 days of arrest in your room." Said Mio firmly.

"B-but I don't have any room for myself, I live in my engine! And who will drive the "Commander" if I'm not around?!" Asked Lukas, shocked.

"You will be put in Yeager's and Lucchinis Room for the time being, as for your engine, it will be shut in the shed, over the durance of your arrest." Said Major Sakamoto calmly, and turned, walking away.  
After she was out of hearing range, Lukas and Shirley said out what they though.

"Well sh*t."


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, both Lukas and Shirley started their respective punishments. While Shirley had to put up with the latrine duties, Lukas spent the day in Shirleys and Francescas room, reading, writing, and trying to get his mind of off his normal duties, that were now being done by some Orussian soldiers from the town. He just finished another paper plane, and was about to throw it, as Shirley came in, with something for lunch.

"Here you go." She said, and handed Lukas a bowl of soup.

"Thanks. Man, this might be the most boring thing I have ever gotten as a punishment." Groaned the engineer.

"Wana swap?" Grumbled the Liberian.

"On another note, I got time to finally read some of my books..." Said the Karlslander hastily.

"What are you reading?" Asked Shirley.

"Well, its a book about famous locomotives; I myself have seen some of the engines from here in real life! I remember it, like it was yesterday, that I saw the air-smoothed gem that was the KRGs Class 05 001. I never saw an engine like her before; black as the night, and even motionless looking more powerful then their smaller cousins, the 01s... That was a year or two before the Neurois attacked. Now, all that would be left of her is a cold heap of scrap, in some god damned, blown up shed in Karlsland." Said the engineer, and growled the last part.

"Did you ever visit Liberion?" Asked the Girl beside him, as she looked at a picture of a big Liberion locomotive.

"Once. I was send there with one of our strongest passenger engines, to show our friends over the pond that not only Britannia could produce fast power horses. I saw many extraordinary sights and I will never forget that day, when I needed to help one of the PRRs GG1 electric engines to get to the main station!" Chuckled the boy.

After that, Shirley went out again, to get back to her punishment.

 **Meanwhile, at the Ural mountain border**

"This is patrol, were heading back! The snow is too heavy to get through! I don't think the Neurois will attack in a weather such as this!" Said a man over his radio.

"Roger that patrol. Get back here as soon as you can." Came the reply, and the radio went quiet.  
"Okay Nikolai! Were heading back!" Said the man to his partner.

"Okay! I've got my fair share of snow for today anyway!" Laughed Nikolai, and both men started to walk away. As they walked through the blizzard, they could faintly hear a sound.  
"Do you hear that?!" Asked the Nikolai.

"Yes! It sounds like gigantic footsteps!" Answered his partner.

They turned around, and saw something big, walking in their direction. Suddenly, there came a large red light from the thing, and shot the beam at the two soldiers.

"It's a neuroi! How stupid are they, to launch an attack in this weather?!" Cried The first one.  
"I don't know! But we need to warn the others! Ivan! Radio to the outpost and tell the to get witch support! We can't beat that thing in a blizzard!" Answered Nikolai.

Ivan pulled out his radio and started the transmission.  
"This is commissar Ivan Petrenkov! We are getting attacked by an neuroi! We need help! Call in witc-" But then, he was cut of as the neurois beam hit the two of them...

 **Back at the 501** **st** **JFWs commando post**

Lukas was just working on a miniature M4 Sherman tank model, that he found as a building set, when the neuroi alarm went off. He didn't react to that, as he was concentrating on his work at hand; that was, until Lucchini slammed the door open. The force that the door had, was enough to let the model crumble into pieces. Groaning, he turned around to face the kid.

"What is it?" He sighted.

"Well, the neuroi alarm..." Said Francesca, a bid puzzled about that question.

"If you have forgot it, I'm grounded for the next 2 days and... 9 Hours. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some, not at all, serious work to do." Said Lukas with a posh tone, and turned back to the model, and started off from the beginning, again.

In the briefing room, the girls were tolled of the about the situation.

"We've been informed about a neuroi walker, that breeched the boarder to the neuroi controlled part of Orussia." Explained Minna.

"How could it even get over the mountains in the first place?! They are far too steep to get over them, and the only excess ways are tightly secured by us!" Exclaimed Gertrude.

"The neuroi is using a blizzard as its shield, so that it can't be seen from afar. We need to stop this neuroi before it can reach any major city!" Stated Mayor Sakamoto.

"So that we won't be detected that easy, were going to move as two person groups. I don't think I need to tell who will be with who, as it seems pretty obvious. We'll move in 15 Minutes." Said the Commander, and started to walk away. 

**15 Minutes later**

The girls departed exactly 15 Minutes later, and Lukas and Shirley could only watch as they departed. Shirley, knowing that no-one would watch if she would work or not, returned to her room, where the 'Steamboy' was just finishing the Sherman.

"Well, just you and me, aye?" Asked Lukas.

"If you don't count Sanya, then yes. I hope they're going to be Ok. Fighting a neuroi in normal weather is hard enough, but in a blizzard? I don't think they'll get that one down that soon." Said the Liberion, but was stopped, when the Karlslander boy stood up, and went to the door.

"Where are you going?"

"The sheds. I'll ready the 'Commander', just in case..." Said Romstein and walked slowly down the hallway; that was before he poked his head back inside.

"Well?"

"Well what?"  
"Are you coming or not?!" Asked the engineer impatiently, but with a smirk on his face. The Liberion seemed to ponder for a moment, before jumping up, and went with him.

 **5 miles before the border, human controlled side**

"Miyafuji, Bishop! Do you see something?!" Asked Mio via the radio. The blizzard was getting even worse, and the witches needed to land, so that they could continue their mission.

"No! And I don't think we will find that neuroi either!" Shouted Yoshika into the radio.

Just then, there was a light, red light, coming from somewhere inside the snowstorm. Both Yoshika and Lynette had no time to react, as a neuroi beam hit the ground right in front of them, sending snow and earth flying into the air, and onto the both of them.

"What happen?!" Asked Mio, who heard everything.

"The neuroi! It knows where we are!" Replied Lynette.

"I must have heard us... Everyone! No more conversations, from now on!" Said Minna, and the radio went quiet.  
Indeed, the neuroi stopped shooting, after they went quiet, but they couldn't coordinate anymore, and with the blizzard raging, they couldn't see where they were going.  
"I don't like this. We could easily walk into the neurois path, without even knowing it!" Whispered Barkhorn to Hartmann.

"Well, but we-" But she was cut of, as both she and Barkhorn fell down a steep slope. They landed on a small ledge, with an heavy thud.

"Ow! That'll hurt tomorrow." Said Erica.

"If we get home that is. I can't see a way to get up there again, and I don't know how long it would take to get down. Also, I think I broke my arm when I landed..." Said Gertrude.

"Well, lets try to contact the others then! They an come here and help us!" Suggested Erica.

"No! The neuroi will spot them, or us, if you do that! All we can do now is wait, and hope that they somehow come around here, and find us." Said Gertrude, and sat against the stone wall.

Meanwhile, Perrine and Francesca found the neuroi, and contacted the others, over a save canal of course. Soon, they were all behind the neuroi, except for Erica and Gertrude.

"Where are Hartmann and Barkhorn?" Asked Yoshika.

"We can't wait for them, we need to take this one down. We need to take it down, before it gets out of the blizzard; if that was Miyafuji and Bishop stated is correct, then it can hit any city from miles away!" Explained Mio, and they all headed out.

The neuroi soon noticed them, and opened fire on the witches. In return, they too opened fire, but couldn't aim very precisely, as the snow hid their enemy, and only its beams could give them a target. Before long, the area was enlighten with the red beams of the neuroi, and the bullets of the witches. After a rather long battle, the girls won the battle, but Hartmann and Barkhorn still didn't turned up.

"Something must have happened! They wouldn't miss out a battle, at least Barkhorn, that is..." Stated Eila.

"Maybe, they are still somewhere around here?" Suggested Lucchini.

"That would be the most reasonable conclusion; after all, one can easily lost his way in this kind of weather." Said Minna.

"Then we should hurry and find them! In these mountains, the nights are cold, really cold." Said Eila.

"ACHOO!"  
"Gesundheit." Said Barkhorn, as Erica sneezed again.

"Thanks." shivered the blond Karlsland girl. They were waiting for roughly an hour, but were already frozen to the bones. While Gertrude didn't showed it, Erica made up for that, grumbling and shivering, and, of course, sneezing.

"I h-h-h-hope that they'll come s-s-s-soon." Shivered Erica.

"Trust me. They will." Said Trude, but she wasn't so confident about that.

 **501** **st** **JFW Base, 20 Minutes after the battle**

Both Shirley and Lukas were playing poker in the 'Commanders', since they had nothing else to do. Lukas was grinning inside, having a Full House. He was just going to go 'All in', when the radio perked up.

"Shirley? Do you copy?" Came the voice of Minna.

"Yes, I copy. What is it?"

"We need you to ready some equipment for a search party for us. Barkhorn and Hartmann are missing."  
"Roger that." And with that, she jumped from the table, and went to collect the equipment.  
She came back a few minutes later, just to find the room deserted. There came a strong hiss from outside. She looked through the window, just to see the 'Commander', on its track, with Lukas, bringing some torches, a tee kettle, and a box with tee bags in it. She raced outside, just as Lukas climbed aboard.

"What do you think your doing?!" Asked the Liberion.

"Well, what does it looks like? I'm going to get those two back here on the double! Who knows in what situation they are in, and even so, being out there for over... 4 Hours, without pants and only in panties, and with nothing to keep themselves warm except their uniforms, there is not a moment to lose!" Said the Karlslander, and grabbed the throttle firmly, pulling it open.

The locomotive slowly started to move, as Shirley jumped aboard.

"I'm not going to go out there alone Romstein! After all, its dangerous out there." Smirked the fighter ace.

"Then welcome aboard. Take a seat and enjoy the ride." Smirked Lukas, and grabbed two handles, slowly opening them.

"What are those?" Asked Shirley.

"These handles, are the Striker operators. Normally, a Striker would be controlled via the mind of an Witch, but since these Strikers are mounted to an locomotive, they are needed to be controlled manually." Explained the engineer, and brought the levers to a position where, in white letters, the word "Flight" stood.

They were racing through the sky, but could soon make out the shape of 8 figures, heading in the opposite direction.

"Well, I think our secret operation is blown Shirls." Said Lukas nervously, as the girls of the 501st JFW flew towards them.

"And what are we going to do now?" Asked Shirley.

"The only thing we can do." Grimaced the Steamboy, and opened the throttle to the maximum.

"Hey, Mayor! Isn't that Romsteins locomotive?" Asked Perrine.

"What?! What is it doing here?! And why is it in steam?!" She asked.

The locomotive raced past them, with horrific speed. Sakamoto turned around and scanned the locomotive, where she could see a red haired girl, and a dark brown haired boy with an Karlslander engineers hat.

"Lukas and Shirley! They took of in Lukas' locomotive!" Mio exclaimed, and turned her radio on.

"Romstein and Yeager! I know you two can hear me! You will return to base, and stay in your room till we returned from the search party!"

"Ma'am, with all due respect, but if there are two members of the same wing as you are are missing, and you could help, you would do it, ignoring the consequences that could result in it." Came the engineers voice through the radio.

Sakamoto tried to contact the both of them again, but she couldn't reach them. The runaways soon reached the outer parts of the blizzard. Lukas climbed to the front of the engine, and lit the oil lamp. After climbing back inside, he reduced the steam in put, and turned to Shirley.  
"Okay, were reaching the place where the others had the last radio contact with the two MIAs. I'm going to land right there, and we'll search on foot. Here-" He said, giving her a little gadget "-this is something I build in my spare time. Its a tracking device. With this little thing, you can find your way to the loco back. If you find them, give me a signal, and I will come and get you with the commander." Explained Romstein, and landed the engine.

They split up, and headed different ways. The blizzard was still raging, but was getting weaker. Still, the visual was bad, and both Shirley and Lukas had a hard time to find their way.  
"I just hope we'll find them soon. They must have frozen stiff by this point!" Lukas thought out aloud, just as he took another step.  
However, instead of hitting firm ground, he felt himself fall forward. Instinctively, he started his Strikers, and caught himself. He looked behind him, just to see the rock face, from which he felt.

"*whistling* that's a pretty nice fall. If one would fall down the- wait. Could it be?"  
He slowly glided down the rock face, and looked for any ledge, any cliff side, or anything that someone could land on. He stopped, when he saw a small ledge, on which two forms stood out. He landed, and walked to Barkhorn and Hartmann.  
"Come on you two. Up you get." Grinned the Steamboy, but stopped that when they didn't reacted.

He looked over them: Their lips were blue, and only a small cloud of breath came out of their mouths. He went from taunting to serious, and activated his radio again.

"Shirley, its me. I found them. Get back to the engine, and stay there. Lay some blankets in front of the firebox and fill the tee kettle with water. These two are in grave danger if they don't heat up soon."  
"Okay. We better get a move on, it'll get dark soon." Replied the Liberion.

Lukas thought of an way to get both of them up the ledge, but nothing came to his mind. The only way he knew, was to pick them up princess style and carry them to the train.

'Desperate times call for desperate measures' He thought to himself, and picked Hartmann up.  
"I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise." Said the engineer, and started of.

He soon reached his locomotive, and landed on the footplate. He went inside the cab, where a blanket was stretched out, right next to the warm firebox.

"My god. Will she be ok?!" Asked Shirley.

"Yes. She's just over-chilled. She will be okay when were home." The boy replied, and flew off again. After getting Barkhorn back too, they set off for home. The night already went over the land as they flew, and only the lamp of the engine could give them an answer, of where they were flying. Soon, the mansion was in sight, and Lukas slowly and carefully, brought the engine back onto dry rails again. Standing next to the rails were a very relieved Commander Minna, and a very ticked off Mayor Sakamoto.

"Flight Lieutenant Yeager and Lieutenant Romstein! What were you two thinking?! Not only did you violated Your punishment orders, but you also ran away with war machinery! What do you have to say for your defence?!" She asked.

"I did, what I thought was right. Like said: If I can help, I don't care what the aftermath is." Said Lukas, with not a single hint of shame in his voice.

"The same goes for me too." Came Shirley's voice.

"Very well then, seeing that you already have a punishment at hand, I thought about extending it for 1 more week..." began Sakamoto, receiving two silent groans from the two in question.  
"But seeing that you two went to save two of our 'little family', even though you know what would happen if you do, I think that you have served your punishment more then enough." Finished Minna, to which both Shirley and Lukas perked up in delight.

"You mean were off the list?!" Asked the engineer joyfully.

"Indeed it does." Smiled Minna.

"Now, you better get some rest, as your going to get back to your normal chores first thing in the morning!" Smiled Minna, and walked off with Mio.

Lukas and Shirley just looked at each others, and grinned.

"Well, better get some sleep, after a little celebrating." Chuckled Romstein.

"I can't believe we got of the hook that easily!" Smiled Shirley.

"Well, you go off and tell the others about our 'blue eye'. I get our two snow queens into their quarters." said Lukas, and walked back to the cab.

After getting both Barkhorn and Hartmann back to their room, Lukas went to the dinning hall, where the others were having dinner. They congratulated both him and Shirley for their actions, and that they were released of their punishment. After a quick dinner, and a small bath, Lukas returned to his engine, which was still waiting outside. It had started to snow, and now a small layer of the white, fluffy stuff was covering the engine. He just stood there, looking at his locomotive, idling on its track, not making a sound, just standing there, in the cold nights air. After a little while, he brought her back to the shed, cooled her down, and went to his makeshift bed, that he had set up on the firemans side of the cab. With one last look at a picture of an group of people, in front of an old brick shed, he closed his eyes, and went to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

" _Where did you say, would we find the supplies?"_

" _I told you: they are at Dock 5, where the Fuso tramp steamer is docked!" Replied Lukas, as he and 3 other people walked towards Dock 5._

" _What do you think about the new Strikers Dr. Miyafuji build? He said they would be even more powerful than the older ones!"_

" _Well, I hope that they keep their promise. It would help to end this war even soone-"_

" _LOOK OUT!" Came a shout, as a lorry raced towards them._

 _Lukas jumped out of the way, just in time._

" _WATCH WERE YOU DRIVING YOU NU-"_

 _But before he could finished, there came a loud, shrill whistle, as a small dock tank engine hurtled towards him. The engine gave another whistle, as it towered over him, brakes screaming, as it rolled over him…_

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Screamed Lukas, as he fell from his bed, and onto the cab floor.

He panted hard, looking around. He was no longer lying on the ground, at the harbor of Dover, but in the cab of his locomotive. He stood up again, and sighed.

"These nightmares will kill me one of these days…" Murmured the engineer, and got out of the cab, with a set of fresh clothes, and headed for the house.

He snuck inside, and went towards the bath. Since there was only one bath, he stood up very early in the morning, so that the girls wouldn't see him. After dressing himself up, he went outside again, and looked around. The air was cold, and the sky was clear. He smiled to himself, as he got back to the sheds, to get back to his usual chores. He checked the coal and water stand of the tender, lubricated the motion parts, and cleaned his engine. After that, he got into the cab again, and checked his weaponry. First, his M1903, and his M1917, then his other guns. He had quite a collection, ranging from normal rifles, over light machine guns to anti-tank grenades. After making sure they were all in working order, he checked the time.

"Still an hour before wake up call. Enough time to work on my little project." He smirked, and got to an secluded part of the sheds, where a small flatbed stood.

On it was a contraption, that looked like a cannon of some sorts. He build it, so that, if needed, the 'Commander' could still have an ace up its sleeve. He was just screwing the barrel in place, when the wake up call rang through. He finished his work, and went back outside, and back to the mansion. He went into the kitchen, where Yoshika and Lynette already were hard at work, preparing breakfast.

"Morning you two." Smiled the 'Steamboy'.

"Morning Lukas." Came the reply.

"Need some help?"

"Not really, but thanks for asking." Answered Yoshika.

"Aw it's nothing. Anyway, do you two know if Barkhorn or Hartmann are up again?"

"Well, I think they are awake again, but I think they've got a cold, while stuck on the ledge." Replied Lynette.

"I think it's save to say that it's good that they only got a cold, and nothing worse. Anyway, I think I better make those two snow queens a tea. What do you think: lemon or spearmint?" Asked Lukas, holding up two boxes.

"I would say lemon."

"My though exactly." Grinned Lukas, and put the tea kettle onto the stove.

After a few minutes, he stood in front of the door to Barkhorns and Hartmanns room. He knocked lightly, but didn't got an answer. He went in, and looked at the bed, chuckling lightly at what he saw. There were both girls, cuddled together, holding each other as if to protect the other. He sat the tray with the tea cups on a table, and went back to the door again, when a devious thought struck him. He pulled out a portable camera, which he always carried, in case something interesting happened, and took a photo of the two.

'I'll give them this, Later.' He grinned to himself, and walked downstairs, just to see the others, already in the dining hall.

"Morning lady's." He said, and sat himself onto a free chair.

"Morning" came the collective reply.

"Say, Lukas; what is your special ability?" Asked Francesca.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, everyone got a special ability: Perrine got her Donner, Erica got her Sturm, even Mayor Sakamoto had one!" Explained the girl.

"Ah, now I know what your talking about. I can show you, if you like. But we have to go outside for that." Grinned the engineer, and stood up again.

When they got outside, he went to his engine, and grabbed a large bottle, and a corn pipe, and went to an empty meadow. He pulled out a small bag, purred some black powder into the pipe, and lit it.

"You smoke?" Asked Shirley, who came out with the others.

"No no. That's coal dust. This is a special designed pipe. A steam pipe. It produces steam, which helps me clean my lung; I've inhaled a large amount of smoke in my young life, and this helps me to breath." Explained the boy, as he blew into the pipe, and a small flame came out of the pipes opening.

Quickly, he opened the bottle, and took a large slug of the liquid inside it. He then inhaled the flame from the pipe, and turned away from the girls. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to scream, but out came a large flame. The flame went away after a few seconds, and Lukas turned back to his audience, who looked at him with big eyes.

"What was THAT?!" Asked Eila.

"It's called the 'Dragons Breath'. Not many people are capable of doing such a thing, since you need a high pain resistance, for obvious reasons. With this little stunt, I can burn into the metal of a Neuroi, even if it has the thickest armor." Smiled Lukas, as he put the pipe into his mouth.

"The bottle is filled with 90% alcohol, so that I can produce an effective flame, even though the 'Dragons Breath' can be done with any kind of alcohol." He finished, and began to walk back to the house.

After showing the others his little trick, the Karlslander needed something to drink. That was the main cause why he didn't use that trick so much: afterwards, he would need a large amount of water to cool his mouth down again. He purred himself a glass of water, and downed it in one go. He repeated that, till he had finished 5 glasses. Relieved, he got outside again, and draw his Revolver, eyeing it closely.

"I could do with some aiming training..." He murmured, and looked around.

He found an old box, and some empty cans, lying in the snow covered grass.

"That will do." He shrugged, and prepared his shooting range.

He stood a few feet away from the box, his Revolver in its holster, eyeing the targets in front of him. He pulled his Revolver, and shot. He pulled the trigger as quickly as he could, and the targets fell one by one. He went to inspect his score.

"Not even Billy the Kid would have done it better." He grinned, as he eyed the fresh holes.

"Not bad, for a beginner." Chuckled a voice, and he turned around, just to see Shirley, standing behind him.

"And you could do it better?" Asked the Karlslander.

"Of course! I could beat you any day!" Bragged the Liberion.

"Well, then proof it!" And he gave her his Revolver, after reloading it.  
He went to the box, and placed the cans on in again. He then walked next to Shirley, and looked at the cans.

"You can shoot now, oh great sharpshooter." Mocked the boy.

"Watch this." Grinned the ace, and pulled the trigger. The cans fell, but Lukas wasn't impressed.  
"Not bad, for a newbie. Lets try something else. I will throw the cans, you need to take them down. Lets see if you can do that." Smirked the engineer, and collected the cans. He went into position, and threw the cans. Shirley fired, and hit every one of them.

"HAHA! Told you so!" Said the Liberion triumphant.

"Pah! Let me show you how its really done!" Replied the 'Steamboy', and took the weapon. Shirley looked at him, and he gave her thumps up, and got ready to fire. The cans flew through the air, but were easily brought down. Lukas grinned, and let the gun spin a few times on his finger, till he put it in its holster again.  
"Why don't we move onto something bigger?" Suggested Shirley, as she came up to him again.

"Like what?"

"How about a mock battle? Whoever wins, is the better." Smirked Shirley.

"Sounds good to me." Smirked the boy back.

While they were having their little competition, they were observed by Lucchini, Yoshika and Lyne.

"Looks like its a tie." Said Lyne.

"I don't think they will leave it like that." Said Yoshika, as both of them went into the shed.  
They rushed out again, with their strikers and paintball weapons. They hovered over the garden, as they went through the rules.

"Okay, first ones hit is out. No second try, no rematch. Only 1 match, and that's it." Explained Shirley.

"Good. May the better win." Grinned the Karlslander, with an victorious grin.

"Don't worry, I will." Said Shirley, and flew off.

Lukas started off into the opposite direction, and stopped, when he reached the ground marks. He turned around, and looked at his watch.

'10 Seconds till start. Poor Shirley, she won't know what will hit her.' He thought to himself, and started off, as the clock struck the hour.

The two fighters were racing towards each other, their weapons drawn and ready to fight. They past each other, starting the battle. Lukas turned around, and raced after the Speed Queen, but couldn't quite keep up with her. He took aim through his scope, and pulled the trigger. Shirley, however, dogged the bullet, and made a full circle, and was now behind him. Lukas chuckled, and looked behind him, as Shirley took him now in her line of fire. He turned onto his back, and looked at Shirley.

"Not bad!" He shouted.

"But still not good enough!" He continued, and he suddenly reduced speed, coming level to level with the Liberion. He grinned at her, and went even slower. He took aim again, and shoot. There came a light 'Eep' from her, as the paint ball hit right between her legs. Lukas looked slightly surprised; he had actually aimed for her back, not between her legs. He turned around, and raced back to the mansion as quick as he could. He landed in the backyard of the mansion, where Yoshika, Lynette and Lucchini stood.

"Nice match!" Remarked Lynette.  
"Sorry, can't talk! I might be in grave danger right now!" Came the reply, as he raced past them, into the mansion.

Shirley landed just a few seconds later, red in the face, and very angry.

"Shirley? Whats wrong? And why is there paint on your panties?" Asked Lucchini.

"Because that Idiot of an Karlslander shot directly between my legs!" Came the angered answer.

"That would explain why he was in a hurry..." Murmured Yoshika.  
"Where did he go?!" Asked the Liberion impatiently.

"He went inside." Came the reply, and Shirley ran inside.

"He's in trouble. Big time." Said Lucchini.

Lukas ran through the mansion, and raced into the first room he saw. Closing the door behind him, he saw that he wounded up back in Hartmanns and Barkhorns room. They were both wide awake now, but were still cold.  
"Morning you two. You gave us quite a fright out there." Chuckled the boy, forgetting his situation for the moment.

"W-W-What do you mean?" Shivered Erica.

"A few more minutes, and you two would be icicles! It's a good thing me and big, busty and furious disobeyed orders to get you two here!" Chuckled Lukas.

"You mean Shirley?" Asked Barkhorn.

"Yeah, she and I had a mock battle a few minutes ago, and I didn't aim right, and might have shot here between the legs with a paint ball." he explained, grinning nervously.

Both girls looked at him with empty faces, till Hartmann began to laugh.

"HAHAHAHA! Your soooo in trouble!" Laughed the blonde.

"Stop laughing! It's not funny! She'll kill me when she finds me." Grumbled the boy nervously.

"They you better stay here, at least until she stopped searching you." Suggested Barkhorn, as they could hear someone racing past the door.

"Sounds like her." Whispered the boy.

"Well, seams like your going to stay a while, how about you tell us something about you. We hardly know anything about you, except that you worked with Dr. Miyafuji for some time." Suggested Hartmann.

"Why not? Well, I was born in a small village in Karlsland, near Weimar. It was very small, but was very peaceful. It also had a railway station, where I spend most of my free time. I was good friends with the station master, and he even let me work there with him. After I grew old enough, I started to work on the Karlsland Reichsbahn, as a cleaner in the sheds of Weimar. After a few years, I worked myself up to drive engines. It was then that I started working on Emma. Back then, she hadn't got that name, she was only 'Number 7'. I worked on a small branch line with her. She was small enough to work on the line, and was still strong enough to pull the trains. I worked there with many different people, most of them just stayed for a night or two, when they would work on trains that came from places like Hamburg, Berlin or Dresden. The only two persons who I could call my friends were Alexander and Tobias. They both worked on big, strong engines, and worked on long distance goods trains. We were like a family, till the war started. We needed to evacuate everyone, as fast as possible. We all pulled passenger and goods wagons that were filled with people. But I couldn't follow them, since they were running on the main line, while I was sent onto a branch line. I reached Dortmund, but was told that only a few trains made it, before the neuroi hit the town. I brought the train, and the people, to Pass de Calais, where we were shipped to Folkestone, where I was stuck for some while. After they got me into their shunting yards, they send me to work. It wasn't hard work, since these coaches were still pretty old, but I just wished my friends and my family was with me. It was one day, that the guys from Dr. Miyafujis lab had ordered a delivery, and I was to only person there who could take it. When I reached the lab, I was ordered by Mayor Sakamoto to shunt them onto a siding, and leave them there. As I did, I didn't noticed that the points were still set for the main entry. I rolled backwards, and rammed into an incoming car. It tumbled, and crashed landed onto a mans leg. I ran to him, and tried to lift the car up, to free him again. I didn't knew why I did that; It was obvious that the car was to heavy to lift it by myself, but I tried it nonetheless. I pushed with all my might, as suddenly, out of my head came two, bear like ears, and from my behind came popped a bears tail. I suddenly felt the car shift, and the man could pull his leg free. I dropped the car again, and looked at my ears and tail in shock. After some of the other people saw me like this, they sent me to the Doctor, who made me do some tests. The results stated that I had magical energy in me, it just wasn't strong enough. I started working for the Doctor now, and helped him test new strikers, weapons and such things, till the day of the accident. After that, I helped to take away whatever building parts were left of the lab, and helped to rip up the rails. I already had my Striker, and Emma was rebuilt into her Striker form then, so I was deployed in the field. I was fighting with some RAF guys, when I met Alexander again. He told me that both he and Tobias made it out alive, even though Tobias lost one of his legs. I was stationed in Gallia when they offered me the chance to fight with the 501st in Orussia. Of course, I said yes, and the rest, as they say, is history." Finished Lukas, as he saw the two girls looking at him with wide eyes.  
"Wow. So, do you know what happened to Dr. Miyafuji?" Asked Gertrude.

"No, sadly. I was making a delivery to HQ in London when it happened. All I know is that there was a big blast, and that Dr. Miyafuji was gone." Answered Lukas.

"It must have been hard, not knowing where your friends and family were, after the neuroi attacked." Said Barkhorn.

"Yes, it was. Even though my family was traveling in my train, my shed mates were gone, lost in the hell that once was our home. I had nightmares about it, seeing them in in a train wreck, in the middle of a war torn Karlsland, and all that because of the neuroi. I still have some nightmares, about that, and the day I lost my legs..." Lukas said, with his voice being barely a whisper at the end.

The room was eerily quiet, till there came a small creak from the door, as it suddenly burst open, with Yoshika, Lynette, Perrine and Lucchini, crashing into the room. Lukas walked up to them, with an annoyed expression on his face.

"*sighting* how much did you hear?"  
"from when you escaped from Karlsland." Answered Lucchini.  
"Okay. We will all get out of the room now, except for Barkhorn and Hartmann, and we won't walk about this again. Ever. Understood?" Asked Lukas sternly.

"Y-Yes!" Said the four girls, and got out of the room again. Lukas turned to the two sick witches again.

"Well, thanks for hiding me. Oh! And before I forget-" He said, an pulled out the picture from earlier. "You two look pretty cute together." Said the Karlslander with an sly grin, and showed them the picture. They both blushed bright red.

"Well, time to go, but don't worry. The pic is in save hands." Grinned Lukas, and walked out of the room again.

He walked downstairs, and went into the kitchen. He grabbed himself an apple (It was quite late in the afternoon, and he missed lunch) and walked outside again, when he ran into Shirley. They looked at each other, and suddenly, Lukas remembered why he had hidden. He jumped up again, and tried to ran away. Shirley, however, was already up and after him. He tried to start his Striker, but it wouldn't respond. He looked behind him, just to see Shirley, getting closer and closer. He dashed into the Shed, and jumped into his engines cab, closing of the entries to it. He panted heavily, and looked out of the cab windows. He couldn't see her anywhere. He sighed in relieve, and fell into the drivers seat. He pulled his hat over his eyes and took a bite out of the apple, when a shadow went into the light, that came into the cab through the windows on board. He gulped, not wanting to take his hat off. He pushed it up, just to see Shirley in front of him. He looked past her, to see the cab door open. He grinned nervously, before trying to jump past her, only for her to jump into his path, crashing into her bosom. She grabbed him by his collar, and pulled him up, to see him in the eyes.

"PleaseShirleydon'tkillmeIdidn'twantedtoshootyoubetweenthelegsItwasallabigmissunderstandingPleaseI'mtoyoungtodiiiiieeee!" Said Lukas, beating even Francesca in her speaking speed.

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you." She mused.

"I've got something better for you..." She said, smiling deviously...

 **The next morning**

The girls were all sitting in the dining hall, eating breakfast, but something wasn't right. Lukas had yet you turn up.

"I don't understand this. He's usually the first one to get up; why isn't he here yet?" Asked Yoshika.

No one knew the answer, till there was a loud banging of a door, followed by a groan, as Lukas slumped into the room. He looked dreadful: He had rings under his eyes, an 'leave me alone' expression on his face, and he smelled out of his mouth like he had drunk a whole brewery that night.

"Whats wrong Lukas? Rough night?" Asked Shirley sweetly.  
"Not. A. Word." Grumbled the driver, and walked past the others, heading for the bath.

"Do you anything about this Shirley?" Asked Sakamoto.

"Well, lets see it in this way: I think he will think twice, before challenging me again." Grinned Shirley, and took a sip from her drink.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! So, this chapter will go a bid AU, 'cause I needed a good family bonding for this one, and seeing that Stalin was an total Arse to his own son, I turned some facts for it... ENJOY!**

After getting a nice cold shower, cleaning his teeth and a few anti hangover tablets from the medical compartment, Lukas came back into the kitchen, and got his breakfast.

"What was wrong Lukas? You looked awful when you came in!" Asked Yoshika concerned.

"Oh, its nothing. Just a little headache, but its gone now." Smiled the boy tiredly, as he dug into his meal.

"I hope so, because Minna wants to see you, Shirley, Yoshika, Lynette and Lucchini in her office." Said Sakamoto.

"Okay. Strange, but fine with me." Shrugged Lukas.

"What did we do this time?" Asked Shirley quietly.

"Who knows. Maybe, she saw what we did last night?" Suggested the engineer.  
Both looked at each other.

"Do you... do you remember **what** exactly happened last night?" Asked the boy.

"You don't remember?"  
"No. Last thing I can remember was that you stood in the cab of my engine. Then, Blackout." Said Romstein.

"Well, its strange, but I can't remember what happened too. Only thing I can recall is that we drank something..." Started the Liberion, but slowed down at the end, looking nervously at the 'Steamboy'.

"Well, lets hope we didn't do some stupid, or destroyed something." Sighed Lukas, as he and Shirley stood up, walking off to the Commanders office.

They went inside, where the three other girls were already waiting.  
"Ah, you finally turned up. Now, I thank you all for coming, as I have a mission for you. We need to escort a VIP from Moscow to Volgograd, where she will change into a train to New Republiska. It is top priority that nothing happens to her, and that no one knows that she is traveling up here." Explained Minna.

"Who will be this VIP, if you mind me asking?" Asked Lukas.

"It will be Anastasia Romanov. She will be boosting the moral in the City, and will overlook the operations going on here, both military, as well as social." Explained Minna.

"My word. The sister of the czar! Now that'll be a special! When will we be leaving?" Asked Shirley.

"You will leave in half an hour. Also, when you come back, could you pick up someone at the railway station? She'll be staying here for a few weeks." Asked Minna.

"Why yes of course." Smiled Lukas.

"Good, that will be all. Dismissed." Said Minna, and we all went outside.

"WOW! Were going to pick up a royalty!" Exclaimed Francesca.

"Well, that might be true, but you already met a royalty yourself! Remember that time when we were sent to buy supplies and you spent that day with the duchess of Romagna?" Grinned Shirley.

"What happened?" Whispered Lukas to Yoshika and Lynette.

"We'll tell you later." Smiled the two girls.

"Well then, we should probably get ready for the trip. I don't think we will need the Strikers on this mission; its only a escort mission after all. So, get your best outfits, and meet me at the platform. I'll get you to Moscow." Grinned the engineer, and walked off to the sheds.

They all waited at the small wooden platform, which was nothing more than a few wooden boards that were nailed together. They all had their best uniform on, as the familiar chuffing sounded from the sheds, and the 'Commander' steamed up to the platform, with a lone, 8 wheeled passenger wagon, painted in royal blue, coupled behind it. Onto the Platform stepped the Karlslander engineer, in his prime Uniform.

"ALL ABOARD! The Moscow Express will leave in 2 Minutes!" He called cheekily, as the four girls climbed aboard.

Lukas got back into his cab, and pulled the whistle, signaling the trains departure. The girls walked into the wagon, gasping at what they saw. The coach was outfitted with fine furniture, and a small bar was in the middle of the wagon. At the end of the wagon, there was a door, that led to the balcony. They each took a seat, and with a firm pull, the train went on its way.

After passing New Republiska, Lukas turned the autopilot on, and climbed over the tender into the coach.  
"Hello dear passengers, and welcome aboard the Moscow Express. This is a non-stop train, calling at Moscow only. We will be reaching Moscow in 3 hours and 55 minutes. If there are any problems or requests, feel free to ask me." Said the engineer, while standing in the door.

"I have a question: can you speak normal again? This butler-like voice creeps me out." Asked Shirley, as the boys facial expression turned to a 'Are you kidding me' pose.

"Killjoy. Anyway, feel free to walk around and take in the beauty that is Pullmans 'George Washington'. Bar is opened the whole ride, and don't hesitate to try out the pool table. I want you to be as relaxed as possible when we meet miss Romanov." Said Lukas, as he walked to the bar, and took out a bottle.

"And don't worry; all the bottles you see here are free from alcohol. The only stuff with any percentage are safely stored in the locked up cupboard over there." He finished, and purred himself a glass full of lemonade.

After that, he walked over to the pool table, and took one of the cues, and threw the other one to Shirley.

"Still not enough? I thought you had enough after yesterday?" Smirked the fighter ace.

"From what I recall, it was I who beat you. Now quit talking and get going." Smirked the boy, as he made the first move.

They played for a good 40 minutes, till Shirley shot the black 8 into the top right hole.

"Told you." Grinned the Liberion as Lucchini hugged her.

"Pure luck. If the train hadn't swayed, I would've won already." Grumbled the boy with a smile, as he shook hands with Shirley.

"Well, I should get back up to the cab. I don't think it would be save to run her on AP too long." He continued, as he walked to the door, while lighting his pipe with an match.

As soon as he left, there was a hard jolt, as the brakes went on. The girls held onto something, as the train screeched to an stop. Lukas came back in, and raced to the cupboard with the alcohol in it. He unlocked it, and pulled out some old guns, that looked so old, that they could have been in there since the days of the wild west. He threw them to the girls, and grabbed his M1903.

"Lukas? Whats going on?!" Asked Yoshika, as the engineer got to the window.  
"Seems like the natives want to welcome us." Came the gruff reply, as he opened the window, and aimed out.

The first few shots flew, and glass shattered. Lukas shot as fast as he could, trying to keep his friends save.

"Come on you lot! I can't keep them of myself you know!" Shouted the boy, as another window shattered.

"DAMN IT! DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT COSTS TO REPLACE THAT?!" He shouted to the partisans, as he shoot further.

"I wont shoot at people, if they shoot me or not!" Said Yoshika. Lynette nodded, and Lucchini simply hid behind the pool table.

"We don't have time for this! If we don't do something, were going to be Swiss cheese! Shirley! Back me up will you?! I have a plan!" Said the Karlslander, and gave the Liberion his weapon. He ran out of the wagon, and jumped into his engine. He pulled the Johnson bar backwards, and pulled the throttle open. The train started backwards, till he pushed the bar forward again. The train hurdled towards a log pile, that was laid onto the rails. It burst through it, and with an triumphant whistle, the train raced away from the battle scene.

The 'Steamboy' sighted in relieve, as he sat back in his seat. After a while, he stood up again, and turned to go to the wagon. What surprised him was the big tree trunk, that had landed in the tender.

'Well, at least something to keep the fire going.' Shrugged the engineer, as he climbed over the tender, and into the coach.  
The girls inside were still rather shaken from the events that had taken place mere minutes ago. Lukas went to Shirley, and took his M1903 from her again.

"What happened? Why did they attacked us?! What did they want from us?!" Asked Shirley.

"The partisans blocked the line with some tree trunks; As for the 'why', I think that they know were on our way to pick up the czars sister, and that they want to stop us from collecting her." Explained Romstein.

"Why would they do that?" Asked Lynette.

"Well, Orussia always had tensions with the czars family; it all escalated in 1917, when they nearly killed the whole family! Thankfully, both Anastasia and her Brother, the czar, could escape, and after a brief rising of the Bolshevik, the czar took over and Orussia was ruled by the Romanov's again. But the tensions are still strong in some regions, and some still want to get rid of the czars family. I would say, that they got a mole in the communication system, and that they planned to kill us, take our place as the guards of the czars sister, and kill her in front of all the people, either in Moscow, Volgograd, or in New Republiska." Concluded the engineer.

"How terrible..." Muttered Lynette.  
"If it comes to power, everyone can become corrupt, M'dear." Said the Karlslander with an Britannian accent.

"Now, Shirley; I trust you with guarding the coach. If anything should happen: If the wagons looses speed, or there is a funny smell or something-" He pulled out a whistle "Blow into the whistle as hard as you can. I will be in the cab. I just hope that they don't have any funny tricks readied for us along the way..." Explained Romstein, muttering the last part, and went back to the cab.  
The rest of the way to Moscow was very quiet, and everyone was on the edge, waiting for another attack. Luckily, there weren't, and they reached the main station at 11:15. While Lukas brought the train to the roundhouse, the others went on their way to the czars palace. When they reached it, their ID's were checked, and they were ordered to give up their weapons at the entry. After a little while, Lukas came up to them.

"Man, these guys sure take their jobs seriously. Anyway, how long do you think we need to wait? The way back to New Republiska will be a long one, thanks to the curve over Volgograd..." Grumbled the engineer, but the question was soon answered, as a guard came up to them, asking them to follow him.

They soon walked into the throne room, where two persons sat in two chairs of equal size.

"The czar Alexei Romanov, and his sister, Anastasia." Said the guard loudly, as the group took of their hats.

"Your highness, it is an honor to meet you." Said Romstein.

"It is actually the other way around. It is an honor to meet the famous witches that protect us." Said Alexei with an broad smile.

"Indeed it is." Said Anastasia.

"Now, as you know, you were ordered here to escort my sister to New Republiska; she will help me with the work over the reclaimed territories from there. Until she is in her house in New Republiska, I want you 5 to watch over her." Explained the czar.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure no harm gets to her." Grinned Francesca.

"I feel save already." Chuckled the grand duchess.

"Now, you will fly from here to Volgograd; there, you will take a train to New Republiska. And please: take care of her, and try not to attract any attention. You probably know about the problems we have with the people further away from the capitol." Advised Alexei.

"We have, but don't worry; Once we'll be aboard my train, not even a tank could harm your sister." Grinned Lukas.

"I'll take your word, young **машини́ст** теплово́за." Laughed the czar.

"But I don't think it is wise that you walk around in your uniforms. Even though soldiers are walking around everywhere, seeing a group of foreign soldier walking past will surely draw attention." Said one of the guards.

"He has a point. Do you have any clothes that are a little more... discrete?" Asked the czar.

As an answer, he got an collective shaking of heads.

"I could help you out with that one." Smiled the grand duchess.

A little while later, a group of people walked out of the servants entrance. Nobody noticed, that it were the grand duchess, and the 5 members of the 501st JFW. The girls had swapped their uniforms for civilian clothing, while the 'Steamboy' had an typical Orussian hat and a torn leather west, with a pair of washed out pants.  
"I'm sorry you needed to use brothers old free time cloths." Apologized Anastasia.

"Ah its alright. I don't mind; after all, I used to wear cloths like this in my time before I joint the military." Smiled the engineer.  
They soon reached the airport, where Lukas left them; he would be meeting them again in Volgograd, to transport them with his train on the rest of their journey. After getting on board of the small passenger plane, the said vehicle started off...

They reached Volgograd a few hours later, and made their way to the train station, where Lukas was supposed to be waiting. But when they reached it, he, nor his Train, were there. They went to the Station master.

"Excuse me but, did a train with an green locomotive and blue coach arrive or left the station over the last hour?" Asked Yoshika.

"Nejt. No train scheduled for the next 2 hours." Said the Station master.

"Strange. Lukas said he would meet us, when we reach the station..." Muttered Shirley.

"Do you... do you think he was attacked again?" Asked Lynette, a bid scared.

"Maybe he was held up for a military special. It wouldn't surprise me, the line to New Republiska is one of the most busiest when it comes to those kinds of specials." Explained the grand duchess.

"But still, we need to get you to New Republiska as fast as possible! Who knows if there aren't any spies around here?" Said Shirley.

"Hey, what about that train over there?" Asked Francesca, as she pointed to an small Orussian tender engine, with a small line of coaches behind it.  
"Its worth a try. But we better leave a notice for Lukas, so that he knows were on our way." Said Shirley, as she walked to the Station masters office.

After returning, they asked the train crew, where they were heading. They explained that they were a fast passenger train, heading for new Republiska, but were delayed because of an incoming goods train running late. They asked if they could ride with them, to which they kindly replied with an 'yes'.

The train was soon underway, and was speeding through the empty Orussian countryside.

"Don't you think, that it is a little strange?" Asked Shirley.  
"What do you mean?" Came the voice of Yoshika.

"Well, they said that this is a fast passenger train, but there are no people on board! And wouldn't the wheels of the engine be much bigger, if it was build for passenger trains?"  
"Where did you learn that thing with the wheels?" Asked Francesca.

"Lukas told me, when we went through our punishment." Shirley shrugged.

"She is right. The train is completely deserted. No one except for us and the guard is on board." Said Anastasia.

"Something is wrong with this train. We will get off at the next station." Decided the busty red head.

But they never reached the next station. The train swerved to the left, as it switched from the main line, onto a branch line. Shirley had enough, and wanted to search the guard, but didn't needed to do that, as he was standing in front of their compartment, with an Pistol, pointed at them.

"What do you thing your doing?!" Demanded the Liberion.

"Isn't it obvious? Were going on a nice small trip to see our leader. And I think your going to enjoy your stay; in fact, I think your going to enjoy it so much, that you never want to leave again..." Chuckled the guard darkly.

"Who is this 'Leader'?" Asked Anastasia with narrowed eyes.

"Our great leader Joseph Stalin!" Said the guard, as a red sickle and hammer could be seen, on an emblem that was sewed to his shirt.

"Bolshevik..." Gasped the grand duchess.

"Indeed, Romanov. You shouldn't have come back; you should have stayed where you were, then you wouldn't need to go through the wrath of Stalin." Said the guard darkly, and walked out of their view. Shirley went to the door, and looked out, to see that the guard had taken a seat at the end of the gangway, with his gun aimed at the door.

"Well, were screwed, badly." Sighted Shirley.

"I don't think we are. After all; when they will notice our disappearance, their surely will sent someone to look for us." Smiled Lucchini.

"Yes, but who knows if were still alive then, or we still **want** to be alive." Thought Anastasia out aloud.

"What do you mean by that?!" Asked Lynette shocked.

"Well, I've heard quite a bid about the Bolshevik; they are disgusting characters, who only seek for power. They would kill, rape, they would do anything to reach their goal." Explained the grand duchess.

Yoshika and Lynette quivered, trying to push the dark thoughts of seeing each other dead out of their heads, will Shirley hugged the small kid next to her, trying to comfort her.

"We need to contact somebody, anybody! Try your radio transmitters! Maybe we can reach someone!" Said Shirley, determination in her voice.

The girls tried to reach someone, but all had static. That was, until Shirley heard something.

"...Shir... ...irley... ...come in..." Came it through the radio.

"Lukas? Lukas, can you hear me?!" Asked the Liberion.

The radio fell into static again, before it stopped.

"Shirley?! Thank got I reached you! I've got the note from the station master, but I'm not sure that this train is save. Please get out at the next station, I'll pick you up there!" Came the hasty voice of the Karlslander.

"Lukas, we are kidnapped by Bolshevik; we were diverted from the main line, and I have not a single Idea where we are. We need your help!" Replied Shirley.

The radio was silent for a second, before there came a muffled scream from the other side, followed by a silent *beep*.  
"Okay, I activated the tracking device. It follows your transmitters, so I can get you. Seams like you are on a abandoned branchline... I will catch up to you in 30 minutes; I could reach you in 10, but I would need to fly. Hold tight and don't turn out your transmitters. Good luck." And with that, the transmission ended.

"Well?"  
"He's on his way. He said he'll catch up to us in 30 minutes. I just hope we have enough time." Replied Shirley, but her hopes were crushed, as the brakes of the train came on, and they rolled into an abandoned station. The guard came up to them again.

"End of the line." He grinned evilly.  
They all walked out of the train, through the station, and onto the street on the other side. There were men and women, all of which were dressed with old, mostly ripped clothes, and were having nasty snarls on their faces as the group past them. They were led up to an big tribune, and were ordered to stand next to an microphone. After a few minutes, a man in brown uniform stepped up to them. He had the Orussian army star on his coat, and a large moustache, with an brown fur cab on his head. The crowd, that had gathered around the tribune, was now cheering for the man.

"Straswutje. I am Wissarionowitsch Dschugaschwili, or as everyone calls me, Joseph Stalin." Said the man to the witches and the great duchess.  
"Why did you kidnap us?!" Asked Anastasia, enraged.

"Isn't it obvious? We are the leader Orussia deserves! We ruled over Orussia for over 15 years! And then some bastard and his bitch of an sister turn up and claim that they are the rightful rulers of Orussia?! Well, we watched it for far enough! Were going to be the leaders of Orussia again, and nobody will stop us!" Said Stalin, and screamed the final part of his speech, to which his listeners cheered again.

"Your crazy! Nobody will listen to you, or let you be the ruler of Orussia!" Shouted Yoshika.

"Oh, but they will. And if they don't listen to me, they can say hello to the Neurois, because that's where they're going to end if anyone opposes me!" He finished his speech, and the people erupted into cheers and whistles.

"Bring them to the 'House'." Said Stalin.

"Gladly." Grinned one of the guards.

The guards brought the girls to a small, two storied house, at the edge of the village. They were pushed inside, and were brought to a room. They were locked inside, and left there. They looked around: It was very dark, with no windows to let in any light. There was a little oil lamp on a table, which was picked up and lit by someone. The person was a old man with an friendly face, which was covered with cuts and bruises.

"Straswutje. My name is Ivanow. And welcome to the purgatory." He said.

"P-p-purgatory?!" Gasped both Yoshika and Lynette.

"Oh yes. Prisoners and those, who oppose to Stalin's way of ruling, are sent here. Once or twice a week, they come here to take one with them. No one knows where they are heading, but they're never heard from again. I was sent here for rallying some of the others to go against Stalin's rule; they found us and brought me here. You aren't the luckiest ones around here... Girls are rare here, and they don't get any special treatment. If your lucky, they only grab you. If not... I better not get into the details." Said the old man, as he saw the girls go pale.

'Where are you Lukas?' Thought Shirley, as she sat against the wall.

 **Outside the 'House'**

Lukas had landed the engine in a little clearance in the woods, and had made his way on foot to the village. He had just reached the outskirts, when he saw a group of people enter a house in front of him. A few minutes later, and only two guards came out again. Not bothered by this, he went into the village, and started to search for the train where he suspected that his friends were still inside of it. He finally found the small train, and went inside to search for his friends. He searched the complete length of the train, but there was not a single soul on board. It was then when he heard a shout behind him. He turned around, to see a smiling young boy walk up to him.

" _Straswutje!_ " Said the boy.

" _Straswutje._ " Replied Lukas, thankful that he learned Orussian as his 2nd secondary language.

" _Where were you when Comrade Stalin held his speech? He finally got the Romanov!_ "Asked the boy excitedly, mistaking the Karlslander for an friend of his.

" _I was checking the train. I heard that she was not alone. You know where their friends are?_ " Asked the engineer.

" _They were brought to the 'House'. I bet they won't last a week in there! Too bad though; the small one was cute._ " Said the boy.

" _Thanks for the info._ " Smiled Lukas, and started to walk away.

" _WAIT! Where are you going?!_ " Asked the Orussian boy.

" _I want to check out those girls for myself._ " Shrugged Romstein, and started to walk again.

" _Did you forget what happened the last time we did that?! We need to wait till one of them goes to the toilets; then we can distract the other and sneak in._ " Explained the boy.

" _Oh yeah. I completely forgot. How about you lead the way, and I follow you this time?_ " Suggested the 'Steamboy'.

The kids face lit up like a Christmas tree.

" _You mean it?! Oh boy, thanks! Come on! Lets see those girls!"_ Smiled the boy, and raced off.

They soon reached the 'House', and hid in some bushes, waiting for one of the men to go to the toilets. After a little while, one of the men came out of the door. After he was out of sight, the two boys went up to the door. While the Orussian kid knocked loudly at the door, Lukas hid behind the wall. When the door opened, Lukas jumped out of his hiding place, and grabbed his revolver by the barrel. He hit the guard with the shaft of the revolver, and knocked the man out cold. The boy just looked in awe at him.

" _Where did you get that gun from?!_ " Asked the younger boy.

" _I... borrowed it from one of the guards._ " Lied the engineer.

Before the Orussian boy could tell anything however, there was a scream from the upper level.

"LYNETTE!" Shouted Romstein, forgetting his cover, and racing up the stairs.

 **Back with the girls, a few minutes earlier**

They were all waiting for something to happen. Shirley had her eyes on her watch, making sure it was running, so that she knew if Lukas was true to his word or not. Yoshika and Lynette were both cuddling together, to keep each other calm. Francesca was lying on one of the beds in the room, her head over the edge, complaining every once in a while about being bored. That was, until the door was opened, and a guard came in. He looked around, mumbling something till his eyes landed on Lynette. He walked up to her, and grabbed her by the ankle, pulling her up. Yoshika tried to help her best friend, but the guard would take no nonsense, and hit her with his fist, sending her tumbling backwards. Lynette screamed out of terror, but then she could hear the sound of something heavy, coming up the stairs. They all looked at the door, as Lukas charged into the room, punching the guard in the face with an mighty force, sending him flying, and crashing onto the ground. Lukas panted, as the adrenalin rushed out of his body. He looked around: Yoshika was picked up by Lynette, and Francesca and Shirley came up to him.

"Took you long enough." Grumbled the Liberion, but hugged him.

"Well, I had some help from a little boy..." Started Lukas, till he noticed the boy, standing in the doorway.  
The boy went inside, but passed the two hugging persons, as he walked up to Ivanow.

" _Father?_ "

" _Hello my boy. I didn't thought I'd see you again._ " Chuckled the older man.

" _B-but Comrade Stalin said that you and mother were both killed by the czars guards..._ "Stammered the boy.

" _That was a trick from Stalin, to stop you from asking questions! I and your mother were both put in here. I was spared, but your mother..._ " Explained the man, cutting off in mid-sentence. But his son understood.

"Ms. Yeager? Could I and my son come with you? We have nothing that keeps us here." Asked Ivanow, as he hold his son in his arms.

"Lukas, what do you think?" Asked Shirley.

"The boy helped me a great bunch, and his father seams like a honest man. Lets take 'em with us." Smiled Romstein, as they turned back to the father-son duo.

"You can come with us. But lets go. Who knows how much time we have left before someone notices the bodies?" Said the engineer, and started to go down. As they walked out, a loud siren started to sound, followed by an Orussian voice.

"They found us! Were doomed!" Said Ivanow.

"Oh no were not! Follow me!" Said the Karlslander, and started off, into the woods.

They soon reached the clearance, where the 'Commander' stood. Lukas jumped aboard, the others followed suit.

"Do you think you can get this thing airborne?" Asked Shirley.

"I've never tried to get her into the air from a stand still, soooooo, first time for everything!" Grinned the boy, and pushed the Striker controls. The Strikers tuned up, and slowly, the engine levitated off the ground, and started to get into the air. When they got over the treeline, Lukas opened the throttle, and the engine slowly started to move forward. They flew far away, till they reached the junction where the mainline split off. Lukas grabbed a chain, and after securing it at the tender, hooked the tracks from the branchline up.

"What are you doing?" Asked Lucchini.

"Well, this branch is forgotten and unused, and that should stay that way! I'll make sure those bastards never get of their little spur ever again!" He shouted, and got back into the cab. The engine started moving, and slowly pulled the tracks up. When the tracks were bent completely out of shape, Lukas landed the engine back on the rails, and coupled the coach back onto his engine.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the return Moscow Express is now ready for departure. Please get aboard, and make yourself comfortable. We will reach our next stop, New Republiska, in about 1 hour, with an delay of 2 ½ hours. Were sorry for the delay." Said Lukas, before breaking down laughing, the others soon chimed in.

The train chuffed through the early evening, and finally reached New Republiska. While Yoshika and Lynette helped the grand duchess to get to her house (She offered both Ivanow and his son to stay with her, to which they both accepted), Lucchini, Shirley and Lukas waited next to the train, waiting for the person that was supposed to travel up to the base with them. While they were waiting, a little girl came up to them.

"Hello. Are you from the 501st?" Asked the girl.

"Why yes, we are. What can we do for you?" Said Lukas, smiling as he got down to see her in the eyes.  
The girl gave him a letter in reply. Lukas read it once, twice, before giving it Shirley, who did the same.

"What do you think?" Whispered Lukas.  
"Either she'll be overjoyed, or go crazy." Chuckled the Flight Lieutenant, and turned to the girl.

"Tell you what; We've got a few people on board who shouldn't see you yet. How about you travel with Lukas up in the locomotive, till we reach the base?" Asked the fighter ace.

"Okay." Smiled the girl, as Lukas helped her up into the cab.

After the two witches came back, Lukas started the train on their final leg of their journey. Slowly, the train pulled into the small platform that was the base's station.

"It's sooooo good to be back!" Exclaimed Yoshika happily.

"Well, I would say so too, escaping imprisonment from a bunch of crazy red flags." Chuckled the Karlslander engineer, as he sat on the tender.

"Your coming with us in, or do you already go to bed?" Asked Lucchini.

"I'll come up later. I need to put these two into storage, before they freeze to the ground." Laughed Romstein, as he stood up again, and walked into the cab again.

After getting back inside, they were all welcomed by their friends, who were relaxing for the evening. After giving report to Minna, they sat themselves to the others, and were surprised to see Gertrude and Erica back up again.  
"Well, you took your time in recovering." Grinned the Liberion.

"A true Karlsland soldier doesn't waist their time with something so feeble like a cold." Stated Barkhorn, right as Erica sneezed.

"Still, no flights for you two until you have completely recovered." Said Minna.

"You wouldn't want to hurt yourself in battle because of your brain being shut down, right? What would your sister say if she would see you on the operation desk?" Asked Shirley smugly.

"And what has this to do with my sister?" Asked the Captain, narrowing her eyes.

"I think this is where I should step in." Came a voice, as Lukas walked in.

"You can come in C." Said Lukas, as the door opened, and the same girl as earlier stepped in. She looked a bit like Miyafuji, with the exception of the different hair style. When she saw Barkhorn, she smiled.

"Hello, _Schwester_." She smiled.

"Chris?!"


	6. Chapter 6

„What are you doing here Chris?!" Asked Barkhorn.

"She was released from the hospital a few days ago, and was permitted to visit you from HQ." Explained Minna.

"Are they mad?! Its way to dangerous here!" Sighed the Karlsland girl, and turned to her sister.

"Chris, I thank you that you came here to see me, but its way to dangerous for you to be here! You will go back to Karlsland, the first thing in the morning!" She stated.

"Oh come on Barky. It wont hurt to have her around the base for 1 day, can it?" Smiled Lukas gently, looking down at the girl, who was around 1 head smaller then him.

"The prognosis does says that the next neuroi wont attack for at least 3 more days." Stated Erica, who had the little girl on her arm now.

"*sight* well, I think she can stay for 1 day, but after that, she'll return to Karlsland. Okay?" Sighted the Captain, to which the others grinned happily.

That night, another snowstorm blew over the mansion, so it wasn't save for anyone to go out. Even Sanya was forbidden to go out for her night patrol! Lukas scoffed at the warning.

"Its just a little snow! I've gone through worse and still came out alive again!" Grumbled the boy, and went to the door.

He went outside, but came back in after a few seconds, snow covering parts of his body, and his hair was in a mess.

"Maybe, it is better if I stay inside, just for the night." He said, having trouble to move his body parts.  
Chris was getting sleepy, and after saying good night, both she and her older sister went to bed, followed by an just as tired Erica Hartmann.

Slowly, the others went to bed too, till only Lukas, Shirley, Minna and Mio were left.

"Well, I better go to bed too. Who knows if the Neurois will take this weather to their advantage, just like they did the last time?" Said Mio, and went to bed.

"Seems like I get the couch. Better make myself comfortable then." Sighted the engineer with a smile, and started to get out a blanket and a pillow.  
"If you don't mind, we could share a bed." Suggested Shirley.

"What?" Asked Lukas, dumb fold.

"I wouldn't mind; I usually sleep with my tools in my bed, but it could get a little tight in there." She chuckled, letting her breasts bounce around a bit, to which the Karlslander turned a light shade of red.  
"Well, seams like you two got that covered. See you tomorrow." Smiled the commander, and walked to bed.

Both Lukas and Shirley walked to the latter's and Lucchinis room. When they got there, they were quiet to not wake up the younger girl. Shirley went to her bed, and made some space for the 'Steamboy' who was taking his Strikers off.

"You can take them of?" Asked the Liberion.

"Of course I can. Its only that I don't like to take them of because..." He didn't finish his sentence, as he pulled out what was left of his leg. It was cover with cuts and burn marks, and was covered off at the ends with metal plates.

"The engine that cut my legs off stopped right next to me; I blacked out after I let out a scream, at least, that's what the others told me. It was better so really; it would have been even worse if I was awake at what happened after that. The locos safety valve blew off, and the steam rushed over my bleeding legs and my lower torso. It wasn't a pretty sight, I assure us. The burn marks will never disappear, the docs told me that." He said, taking of his shirt, showing his upper body.  
Because it was usually covered by his uniform, his upper body wasn't that visible to the others. But now, Shirley had a free view of him. He was in very good shape his whole torso was covered with muscles, but was defaced by the many burn marks, that were marking him. He sighted.

"I know, I know; Disgusting, that's what I am. No one would like to see without anything on me, that's why I never take off my uniform." Said the engineer, with an downcast look on his face.

"No no, its not that." Started Shirley, with a light shade of red on her face.

"What is it then?" Asked the Karlslander, slightly annoyed, and exhausted.

"... we should get some sleep." Was the only thing he got from the red head, as she disappeared into the bed.

Lukas just rolled his eyes, muttering something about what a nuisance girls sometimes were, and got into the bed, trying get some space in between him and the girl, as to not give her wrong thoughts.

"Am I that bad, that you don't want to be next to me?" Asked the girl cheekly.

"Dear blimey no! Its just that, I thought if I would be too close to you, you would get the wrong ideas." Explained the boy, flustered.

"Well, who says that I didn't planned it to go this way?" Asked the Liberion slyly, while Lukas' face went as red as a tomato. Shirley laughed.

"Just kidding. G'night Loko." chuckled the girl next to him.  
"Night Airhead." Grinned the boy, and closed his eyes.

 **The next morning**

The beautiful silence that hung over the landscape was only matched by the beauty of the landscape itself, as the snowstorm had died over the night. Now, it was only snowing slightly, and that only just. If you wouldn't know it, you wouldn't think about the raging war that was happening right now. But the silent was cut short when there was a angry cry from Shirley's and Francesca's room. Lukas and Shirley woke up with a jolt, and looked at the small figure, who was angrily pointing at them.

"Those are mine!" She snarled.

Lukas looked perplexed, till he looked down at the both of them; over the night, he and Shirley cuddled together, and he had groped one of her boobs in the process. He turned bright red, and jumped up, landing perfectly in his Strikers. He raced off, after saying a quick 'thank you' to Shirley. Shirley, who wasn't quite awake when all that happened, was just as wise as before, not getting what the commotion was about, but got up nonetheless. She still hadn't got the sleep out of her eyes, when she walked towards the bath, and didn't see the sign that read 'occupied'. She walked in, and started to take her clothes off. She walked towards the shower, just to hear how they were turned off, and how Romstein climbed out of it, whistling a little tune to himself as he searched for a towel, his eyes closed so to not get any soap into them. He walked past Shirley, who could see him, naked like god had created him, and grabbed a towel. He dried his hair and face off, and opened his eyes, just to see a naked Shirley in front of him. His eyes went wide, and he got red the second time that morning. He turned around, walked around the corner, grabbed his clothes and walked out. Both the engineer and the pilot, were now wide awake, and had some serious pictures, burned into their minds...

Later, at the breakfast table, everyone who were there noticed the strange behavior of the Karlslander and the Liberion, but shrugged it off, not wanting to get involved into something personal. Lukas had made the breakfast for every one, as Yoshika and Lynette had jet to turn up, and so was Eila. After finishing his meal, and the three girls still not having come down for breakfast, he got up, and went to get them.

"I'm not the one for Karlslandish soldier scrap, that's Barky's job, but every normal soldier knows that to listen to their alarm, and that breakfast is important." Said the engineer, more to himself than to the others, but they still heard him, proved by an indignant 'HEY!' from Barkhorn, while her sister and, like Lukas liked to call Hartmann, her 'Girlfriend' just chuckled about it.

He walked up to Yoshika's and Lynette's room, and knocked lightly. After knocking two more times, he walked in, and chuckled lightly at the scene: Both girls were tangled into each other, their mouths just inches away from the other, while Yoshika's right hand was on Lynette's right boob. He walked up to them, and thought about a good way to wake them up. He pulled out an old guards whistle, and blew into it. The whistle blasted, and both girls jumped, kissing each other. They both parted seconds later, shocked, and a little bit glad that this happened.

"If you two lovers would round this up please, you are already late for breakfast." Grinned the engineer cheekily, as the two girls blushed. Lukas walked out of the room again.

"Two down, one to go." He said, and walked up to Eila's room. He was going to knock, when he heard a slight moan from the other side. He listened closer, and heard the voice of Sanya.

"Please... Eila... don't be so rough..." Came the silent voice of the Orussian girl.  
"Lukas?" Came the voice of the young Fuso pilot officer, as both Yoshika and Lynette stood behind the boy, who cringed slightly.

"Don't sneak up to me like that!" He hissed, and turned to the door again.

"What are you doing?" Asked Lynette, slightly alarmed at what the engineer was doing.

"Well, I was going to get Eila to breakfast, but I heard Sanya inside there, and... well... lets better get out of here; if Eila sees us out here, were going to be in for something, and that's not ice cream." Said the boy, and lead the girls away from the door.

"What did you hear?" That was exactly the one question he had hoped he wouldn't need to answer.

"Girls, this is one thing, only your parents or the commander should answer you. For more then 1 reason." Said the boy honestly, while the girls looked at each other with an confused look on their faces.

After breakfast, the others returned to their normal duties; doing paperwork, training, or in some cases, not doing anything. Lukas was outside, helping some of the Orussian soldiers with the work on the sheds. They were extended, to have more space for the others to store things in them (or in Lukas' case, to store his train). Lukas was just picking up some wooden boards for the roof, when he was suddenly hit by something cold. He turned his head, but saw nobody. He shrugged it off, and started off. With the help of his Strikers, he could easily bring 5 boards at once up, making it easier for the men to finish the roof. He did this a few more times, but every time he landed, he got hit by the same cold thing. He got annoyed more and more, till he got enough, and made a plan. He got back up to the soldiers, and explained his plan. They nodded, wanting to see the outcome. Lukas went back into the sheds, and called up to the working men.

"I'M TAKING MY ENGINE OUT FOR A DRIVE! DON'T DROP YOUR TOOLS, I NEED TO LOOSEN UP SOME OF THE COAL ON THE TENDER!"

When the engine slowly steamed out of the sheds, Lukas stood on the tender, his back to the side from where the snowballs had come from. Suddenly, another snowball flew towards him. It hit him directly on his back, and he fell of the engine, landing head first in the snow. Seemingly out of nowhere, came Chris and Erica, running towards the shot down engineer.

They turned him around, but were shocked to see a doll, dressed up as Lukas. From behind them came a whistle, and they turned slowly around, knowing what was waiting for them. Lukas stood there, a victorious grin on his face, with, what looked like a small cannon in his hands.

"Don't you know that shooting someone in the back is cowardly? Well, I think I know a good way to repay it to you." said the Karlslander, with an devious look in his eyes.

"Y-you don't want to shoot us with **that** , do you?" Quivered Erica.

"Oh, why yes of course. Why else would I carry this thing with me?" Asked the engineer oily, and pressed a button.

A hose came out from the back of the cannon, and with another press of the button, the cannon began to shoot. But instead of an cannonball, a large fountain of snow burst out, and covered the two girls from head to toe. Lukas pressed the button again, and the cannon stopped. He looked at where the two were, with only their head sticking out of the pile.

"I must say, your sister is a real genius. Who would ever come up with an snow cannon?" Grinned the boy cheekily.

"Wait! Ursula build that thing?!" Asked Hartmann.

"Oh yes she did. Thought that using the snow as an cheep way to reduce ammo costs, but she forgot about the usage of the gun, and so these bad boys are only used in the winter months." Explained the engineer, as he got into the cab of his engine again, and pulled a lever, letting hot steam shoot out from underneath the loco.

After a few minutes, he closed the steam valve again, and got out. The snow had melted lightly, and the two girls could now get easily out of the pile now.

"So, after getting this over and done with, how about a nice cup of hot chocolate and some cookies?" Asked the Karlslander, as he got into the engines cab. He didn't needed an answer though, as the two girls lit up, and after helping Chris aboard, they all went inside the shed.

They walked into the 'George Washington', and Lukas went to the bar, pulling on a bottle labeled 'Chili Cheese lemonade', and stepped back, as the shelf opened up, and a special row of bottles came up, with some cans in between.

"What is that?!" Asked Erica.  
"That, my dear Kammerad, is my special storage. The best of the best is stored here." He smiled, as he pulled two cans out, opening one, and took out a few spoon full of brown powder, and putting the powder into some cups.  
"Special cocoa powder from south Liberion. The guy who gave me that told me that if I ever told anyone that he gave me that, he wouldn't see the next day... Quite frankly, I heard that he now lives somewhere in Romagna. Anyway, here you two go!" He grinned, and gave the two girls the cups with the hot liquid in it.

At first, they only took one small sip. But then, they downed it in one go.

"That was the **best** hot chocolate I ever had!" Exclaimed Erica.  
"Thought so. That's why I keep the powder in my little save spot, so that no one can get long fingers and can grab himself a cup." Chuckled the engineer, as he closed the can, and stored it back in the secret shelf.  
"And now for the cookies. Its an old home recipe, so be careful." He grinned, as the girls looked at him with confused looks on their faces. He gave each of them a cookie, and quickly put the can back into its resting place, and locking it up. Both girls took a small bite, before eating the whole cookie in one go.

"How did you make those cookies?! They are amazing!" Exclaimed Erica.

"As I said; family recipe. You can become addicted to them if your not careful, that's why I never really make them that much... Anyway, we better get back to the others. Trude will be worried sick because of you Chris." Said Lukas firmly, jet gently.

"Oh don't worry, I wrote her a letter that shes with me!" Grinned Hartmann.

"That means we need to get you two back even faster!" Said Lukas cheekily, and shooed them out of the coach.

They walked slowly back to the house, when they saw Yoshika, Lynette, Perrine and Lucchini, running laps around the base.

"Easy morning with the Mayor, wouldn't you say?" Grinned Lukas to the blond Karlslander.

"Good think she can't see us, or she would probably make us run around the base too." Said Erica.

"Good idea, captain Hartmann." Came the voice of the Mayor behind them, and they slowly turned around, to see mayor Sakamoto standing behind them.

"How about you two join them in their morning exercise? After all, there's nothing like too much training." Laughed Sakamoto, as the two Karlslander sighted.

"You and your big mouth. Chris, how about you run along and tell your sister that she will have to wait till she can beat Erica for slipping you away from her eyesight? This will take some time..." Said the engineer to the girl, and took his trademark hat off, showing his chocolate brown hair.

 **30 Minutes later**

"How *pant* can you *pant* still run?" Panted a puffed out Erica Hartmann when they were through with their morning run. While she and the others were completely out of breath and could barely stand ( Yoshika and Lynette were already lying on the ground, and partly on each other) Lukas wasn't even sweating, much less panting.  
"That's nothing! When I still worked for the railway, I needed to walk at least 3 times as much, **and** would have transported shovel, oil can and tools with me! A railroaders life isn't easy, but its heaven for those who love steam, smoke and oil." laughed the 'Steamboy'.  
"Well, but I still think that we should get back inside. There is still someone who will sure as hell wants to talk to you." Said the engineer, and grabbed the blond by the collar, as he saw how she started to sneak off.

They walked inside, where Barkhorn was sitting together with Chris and the others, while Shirley explained how she saved her big sister.

"...and after she passed out, I raced up to her, and pulled the emergency eject. I got her out of the Striker, and brought her back to the ground. After that she got a good grounding for using that thing, and was sent to potato peeling for a week." Grinned Shirley, thankfully leaving out the part where the Karlslander girl groped her breasts.

"Hey guys, small info: Don't go out. The mayors drilling the young ones, and she won't let you pass her without getting drafted in." Chuckled the Karlslander boy as he walked up to the others with Erica.

"Good to know." Smiled Eila, as she looked outside, to see the 4 girls in their Strikers.

"You know what I just remember? I still couldn't go down to town and get those things you guys wrote I should bring here!" Said Lukas suddenly.

"What? Haven't noticed that till now..." Murmured Shirley.

"I'll go and ask the commander if its okay if I go down to town and get the stuff. Any of you want to tag along?" Asked the engineer.

"I will go. Lucchini won't be here for a while, and I need some new tools anyway." Said Shirley.  
"Good. Then wait at the platform for me. I'll be with you in a few."

After getting the green light from Minna, Lukas and Shirley drove down into the city. They were soon at the station, and after storing the locomotive in a siding, went into the city.  
"Okay, maybe I should have checked the list before I agreed to do this. I mean, a piano?! How the hell am I supposed to get that one back up?! I can't simply take a truck from the yards, they would tear my head off if I'd do that, and I only took the old truck with us. That thing isn't large enough to transport such a load." Groaned the engineer, just as two familiar faces walked up to them.

"Ivanow! Its good to see you. How do you do?" asked the Liberion, as the old man came up to them, with his son next to him.

"Follow us. Quickly." Said the Orussian, as the two followed him to an small store.

"What are you two doing here?! They will get you, if you don't watch out!"

"Who will get us?" Asked the engineer, narrowing his eyes.

"The Bolshevik! They've come here to get us, and you! They knew where you were heading, and have come here to kill us all! They already control the western parts of the city!" Explained Ivanow.

"But what about Anastasia?! And her guards?! Where are the soldiers?!" Asked Lukas concerned.

"Anastasia is with her guards in the northern parts of the city, as is the rest of the people who lives here. They are fighting them off pretty well, but they are just too many. We already called for help, but they cut the Telephone cables!" Said the old man.

"There must be something we can do! Wait... Sanya! If she can listen to radio channels from far away lands, then she surely can send out a help signal! Ivanow! Bring your boy to the Station, I will check the telegraph!" Said Romstein, and started off to the station.

"Why are you trying the telegraph? Ivanow said that they cut the wires." Asked Shirley, as they got into the station building.

"The telephone wires, yeah. But the telegraph wires are placed underground, so that something like that can't happen. Let me just get, this, ON!" He said, trying to get the old telegraph to work again.

He sat down, and started to send a massage down the line. He waited a few minutes till he started again, sending the same message. After that, he got back to his train.

"What did you send?" Asked Ivanow.

"I said that New Republiska is under attack, and that we need reinforcements. But I don't know if they got the message. We need to try again with Sanya, when were at the base." Said Lukas grimly, and started off, pushing the train towards the base.

When they got there, they rounded the girls up, and explained the situation.

"I can't believe that those fools could attack the city so easily!" Exclaimed Sakamoto.

"Well, its no wonder really. The soldiers are all needed at the eastern front, so the western side was practically unsecured." Said Minna.

"I've made a plan, to make sure we can get rid of those Bolshevik for good. Sanya will send a help message to the next city, so that they can send reinforcements to us. Meanwhile, we will bring up the grand duchess, and make sure that those bastards won't touch her." Explained Lukas.  
"Sounds good. Sanya, you heard him. You need to send out that signal as soon as possible. But who will go down and get the grand duchess?" Asked Minna.

"I will go, but I need at least 1 more for backup. Any volunteers?" Asked Romstein.

"I'll go." Said Miyafuji.

"I'll go too." Said Lynne.

"Okay, but I must warn you; If we meet any of those Bolshevik, I don't think they want us as prisoners anymore. In other words; You'll probably need to shoot at someone." Explained the engineer sternly.

"I know that! But if they want to harm innocent people, I'm not going to let them get away with that!" Said Yoshika firmly.

"That's what I wanted to hear! Meet me in the hangar in 3 minutes! You will need some weapons for the job..:" Smirked the boy.

They were inside the 'George Washington' again, but both girls didn't knew why. Lukas walked to one of the cues, and the billiard table turned around, making space for a collection of firearms. Lukas picked up a Type 100 machine gun and a Lee-Enfield rifle, together with an Nambu and a Enfield Revolver.

"Why can't we use our guns?" Asked Yoshika.

"Those are AA Rifles; They are much too heavy in the normal field, and you can't carry them without your Strikers. These here, are lighter, and more suited in normal combat. Also, they are quite similar to the guns you usually use." Explained Lukas, and pressed the guns into the girls hands and gave them a pistol holster each.

"Now, there isn't much to say about fighting on the ground; Its basically the same as in the air. Only difference is, that you can be seriously injured by those bullets, instead of being pulverized by a beam. If you stick to me, nothing should happen though. Its a simple mission: Get in, get her out of there without being seen, and get her here. Now-" He pulled out a map of the city, and showed them the northern part of the city "-Here is where she is trapped. Now, we need to sneak through the main fighting line, and get through to her. There, I can activate my tracking device. When its activated, we will need to wait for a few minutes till the 'Commander' reaches us. that'll be our evacuation transport. Any questions?" Asked the engineer, and got a respectful silence in response.

"Good. Now, lets get going."

 **1 hour later, eastern boarder of the city**

They slowly walked through the city, always staying in the shadows, as to not be seen by anyone, ally or enemy. They could hear the sound of gunfire in the streets further to the west, and Lukas could feel the girls getting more and more nervous.

"Don't worry. Like I said; If we do as I told you, nothing can go wrong." Explained the Karlslander gently.

They soon reached the northern part of the city, and what waited for them was, at least for the girls, a nightmare: dead bodies covered the streets, and the stench of blood and gunfire had filled the streets air. Lukas could see the color going out of the girls faces, and walked next to them, trying to shield them from the massacre. They soon reached their own lines, and were greeted by the Orussians, who brought them to the grand duchess. She was kept in a small hut, at the north most part of the city, to keep here save there. She was relieved to see her friends again.

"Its good to see you again. I can't believe they followed us all the way up here... They wont get away with this!" Said Anastasia.

"We all think so. But justice must step back for now. We need to get you out of here, and fast!" Lukas said, and activated the tracking device.

"We have two minutes till the 'Commander' picks us up." Said the engineer, just as an explosion went off.

"THE BOLSHEVIK! THEY BROKE THROUGH THE DEFENSE LINES!" Came a cry from outside. Lukas went to the window, and looked out, seeing the enemy fighting their way towards them.  
"We can't risk dying out there, not now! We will cover our men from in here!" Explained Lukas, and he pulled out his field M1 Garand, and looked through the field scope.  
He started to pick off the soldiers, with Lynne taking out the ones further behind. Yoshika was fighting off the ones that came too close to them. Even though that worked pretty well, and that they still had help from the people of New Republiska, the enemy had outnumbered them greatly, and was pushing them. There came a splintering of glass, as a grenade flew through the window, into the house.  
"GET OUT! QUICK!" Yelled Lukas, and jumped through the window.

The others burst through it, just in time before the grenade detonated. They were just getting up, when the next round of MP rounds crashed into the wall behind them. They rounded the house, and started to defend themselves from there.

"We need to get out of here!" Said Anastasia.  
"I'm sorry your highness, but my train isn't quite here YET!" He said, while grabbing a Bolshevik, stabbing him with a knife, and throwing the body back to his comrades.  
Just then, a whistle sounded, and Lukas grinned in delight, as with the ringing of the bell, his locomotive slowed to an stop, right in front of them.  
"Ladies, all aboard. Were moving out!" Smirked the engineer, as he climbed into the cab. He was just getting inside, when he was hit through the chest by an bullet. He crashed onto his seat. The others climbed aboard quickly, and Lukas, though having a burning pain around the place where the bullet went through, started the engine off. Yoshika came to him, and tried to heal him, but he just shrugged her off.

"We need to get her to the base first!" Said the engineer, panting heavily.

"But your injured!" Said Yoshika.

"It went through. I can still fight! We'll get you home Ms. Romanov, don't you worry." Panted Romstein, and increased the speed.

They flew over the hills, and were soon at the base. Lukas landed the locomotive, and fainted, pulling the breaks hard as he fell back into his seat. The engine slid to an stop, and Yoshika started right away to heal him. After a few minutes, the wound stopped bleeding, and his face went back to normal. The others stood outside, getting a full report from Lynne and Anastasia.

"We've got word from down the line. They will be freeing the city tomorrow morning. They said that we need to stand our ground till them." Explained Minna.

"I see. I thank you all for rescuing me. Without you, who knows if I would still be alive right now?" Said Anastasia.

"But we should give Lukas some time to recover. I healed the wound, but he is still knocked out cold." Said Yoshika, after joining the group.

"We will build up a barricade around the base, to hold the Bolshevik off. We need to work fast though. Who knows when they are going to attack?" Said Minna, looking down the mountain, from where they could see the city, with small parts of it, burning to their grounds.  
"I never thought that something like this would happen." Thought Mio out aloud.

"We got a new enemy, for the time being. But this one, although not as deadly as the Neuroi, is going to be even worse, with their actions." Said Barkhorn. After that, they all started their work. It was going to be a long night, for all of them.


	7. Chapter 7

The short day went past quickly, and night time soon broke in. Around the mansion, and the shed, was a small wall, build from leftover wood and sand bags. Behind it was a deep trench; deeper then a normal grown adult was high, and so would give the girls an advantage if the Bolshevik would break through the wall. Lukas had yet to wake up, and so the girls were on their own right now, as Ivanow took care of the children. Anastasia was looking over a map of the surroundings with Minna and Mio.

"They will likely attack through the southeast." Said the grand duchess.  
"But that's over the runway. They don't have any cover from there!" Said Mio.

"Stalin is a mastermind in planning things out; That's why he hasn't attacked us yet. We need to guard the whole wall at all time, so we need everyone at work. Has Lukas woken up yet?" Asked Minna.

"Not yet. But I hope he will soon. If we do get overrun, we can make a quick escape with him. I already let the others put their Strikers on board the train." Said Mio, looking towards the shed, seeing the 'George Washington' behind the steam locomotive.  
"Did you already gave the others their weapons?" Asked Minna.

"Yes. Miyafuji showed me the Weapon storage on board the coach, and the others all got guns for earth combat. We should be ready for the worst case." Said Mio.

"Why can't I use my second MG42?! It would be better then to use just one!" Fumed Barkhorn, as she stood at a part of the wall, that faced the northeast.  
"You couldn't carry it. Its a wonder the Mayor let you use one!" Said Shirley over the radio, from a southeastern part of the wall.  
"And why do you, Hartmann and Clostermann each got your guns?" Grumbled the Karlslander.

"Because our guns are light enough to be carried around without the Strikers. Also, Erica is only using her MP 40, so she isn't really using her main gun." Came the bored voice of the Liberion.

"Anyways, you should less talk, and better watch the surroundings. They could come at us at any minute." She continued, as she looked towards the runway, seeing something walk through the dark. She couldn't see what it was at first, before she heard a loud bark.

"A dog? How did he wind up here?" She asked, shining a flashlight at it.

She nearly jumped in alarm, as around the dog, a explosive charge was fitted firmly to the dogs body. The dog growled, and started to race towards her. She shot into the air with her M1911 pistol, and the dog stopped. She shot another time, this time right in front of the dog, and it raced back to where it came from. From the said direction came some Orussian voices, followed by an explosion and the screams of people, as the explosive went off.  
"That's what you get when you mess with the 501st!" Shouted Shirley at the invisible enemy, and hid behind the wall again.

Meanwhile, Lukas was still knocked out on board his engine. He turned and shook, as he had another nightmare...

 _Lukas was working on the 'Commander', on a little branchline in Karlsland. He reached a big junction station, where two bigger locomotives, and two bigger men stood, together with the 501_ _st_ _. He stepped out of the locomotive, kissing Shirley, and stood next to the two people, who shook the 'Steamboy's hand, laughing wholeheartedly. That was, until a shot fired, and the two fell to the the ground. The 501_ _st_ _grabbed their firearms, and started to shoot back, but were outnumbered by the enemy. Lukas turned around, to see the Bolshevik, marching towards them, with Stalin at the front, laughing loudly. He turned back, and saw that only Shirley was left standing. He raced towards her, trying to get her into the train, but could only watch as she was hit in the chest, and fell to the ground, lifeless. He scrambled into his train, and started off, but was rocked through, as the engine left its tracks, and fell to its side. He tumbled out, onto the tracks, when a whistle sounded out. He suddenly heard Shirley, crying for help, and he looked back at the station, seeing the half-dead Liberion on the platform, being swarmed by the army of Bolsheviks. His view was cut out, when a massive Orussian tender engine raced towards him, with the driver laughing maniacally at him, pulling the whistle all the time, while red steam rushed from it.  
"End of the line, you stupid kid!" Screamed the man, as the engine hit him..._

"Shirley!" He screamed, as he stood up, looking around. He was back in the cab again, his wounds were healed, but his head was pounding.

"Huh, déjà vu." He murmured, as he stood up, getting out of the cab.

He walked out of the shed, and looked around. The first thing he saw was a small explosion, near a makeshift wall.  
"Why do I always miss out the good parts?" He grinned, and got back into the cab, pulling out the M1G and his M1917. After getting some ammo from his ammo box, and filled his bandolier up, he walked out of the cab, and towards the mansion. Inside, he found the Commander, Mayor and grand duchess, looking over a map.

"Never thought a map would get such attention these days. Lukas Romstein, reporting back for duty." Grinned the engineer, and saluted.

"At ease. Its good to see you back on your feet again. To get you up to code: The Orussian army will free the town by tomorrow morning, and we need to survive the night out here. We've build up the wall around the base, and are guarding it with everything we've got. You will be set up on the southeastern line; its too big and too under powered right now." Explained Minna, showing Lukas the place where the wall covered the rails.  
"Sounds good to me, but I need to get outside for a few minutes." Said the engineer.

"What?! You want to get out there?! I can not allow that! Those Bolsheviks will shred you, as soon as you set 1 foot out there!" Said Mio.

"But I need to lift out a rail out there, or at least blast one out! The Bolsheviks are stupid, but they know that a train can easily burst through that wall. If they take a locomotive up here, they will burst through and I think you all know what happens then. If I can loosen the spikes on the rail though, that train would derail, and they would either perish in the wreckage, or be picked off by us." Explained the boy.  
"Look. I know my way around Orussian tracks. They are only loosely fitted. I can rip of enough spikes in 5 minutes to let a train derail. I'm only asking for that much. Only 5 minutes, to save all our lives." Said Lukas.

Mio pondered for a moment, before there came a low, but distant whistle.  
"Do you hear that! They are already on the move! I need to take out that rail!" Said Lukas.

"Alright. You can go. But be quick!" Said Mio, as the engineer raced outside.

Lukas got a crowbar from the tool box of the tender, and jumped over the wall, crouching towards a far enough place to start his work. After crouching for about a few hundred meters, he started to pull out the spikes. One after one, the spikes went out of the sleepers, but it was still taking a long time. He could already hear he rattling of a train, and could feel the tracks, starting to vibrate. When he reached the last spike, a light started to blend him. He pulled that spike out even faster, and shifted the rail a few centimeters away. From afar, it was clear that there was something wrong with the track. But in the night, it was impossible to see it, much less stop in time. The train was now very close. He started to run away from his little trap, but couldn't get very far, before the sounds of a crashing train could be heard from behind him. He ran even faster, but he was forced to take cover, when the sound of an explosion came to his ears, as the boiler exploded. He leaped for the ground, as hot pieces of metal flew over him, and some even scratched him. He looked behind him, to see the train, burning from the hot coal of the locomotive. Then, enemy soldiers raced from all sides towards the train. He crouched through the snow, till he heard someone shout something, and he jumped from the ground again, racing towards the wall. He finally saw the wood and sandbag structure, and leaped over it, flying into the trench behind it. He stood up again, rubbing his head, when he heard the familiar sound of an M1911, that just got a new magazine. He looked up, grinning into the face of Charlotte Yeager.

"At ease Shirls. I'm not doing you any harm, at least, not now." He grinned, and grabbed the Liberions hand, as she helped him out of the trench.  
"Did you derail that train?" She asked.  
"Why, of course I did! No need to let those bastards break through our wall without me trying to stop them." Chuckled the engineer, as he pulled out his M1G, and looked through its scope.  
"They wanted to shoot me. They are already near us. We need to pick them off, before they can shoot us down." Said the engineer with an neutral voice, completely different to his usual relaxed voice.  
"Then what are we waiting for?" Asked the girl next to him.

"For a sound. A rustle. Something that lets us know they are coming. You can't just shoot at them like that, 'cause they will shoot back, and not with easy to see beams, but with bullets the same speed as yours. I thought you know about that, being in the Liberion army and that..." whispered the engineer.

"I was speed racer before this. The only knowledge I've got with weapons at that time was the handling with my fathers shotguns." Grumbled the Liberion.

They looked around, the silence was unnerving the two of them, till there was a rustling to their right side. Lukas noticed it, and opened his eyes, as two light beams came out from them. The beams hit the area where the noise came from, and fell onto a group of men, who were heading their way, armed with old looking rifles.

" _Bad move, Ivan._ " Grinned the engineer coldly, as the beam went brighter, blinding them. He took his gun, and shot the enemy soldiers. Shirley, after overcoming the shock of having a living flashlight next to her, helped him, and after a few seconds, the group was lying lifelessly on the ground, not moving a muscle.

"What was that about those lights?!" Asked the red head.

"Do you really think that the 'Dragons Breath' was my magical ability? I've learned that trick from some of my old shedmates! This is my real special move. It's called the 'Deadlight', and is, what you would call, a inbuilt flashlight. Only difference is that these lights can blind both human and neurois, for a limited period of time. Though, if I would use it with my scope, the effect would be even stronger. The only downside is that I can't really use it in the daytime, so I rely on my weapons and the 'Dragons Breath' most of the time." Explained the engineer, as he pulled out his pipe, and lit it. After taking a few quick puffs of steam, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offering one to Shirley.  
"I don't smoke." She said.

"Good. Is better for health anyway. Want a chewing gum instead?" He said, putting the cigarettes back into one pocket, and pulled out some small stripes. Shirley took on, thanking him.

"Why do you carry cigarettes anyway? I thought you don't smoke?" She asked.

"Inside aren't just cigarettes. There are also some cigars inside it. I keep them for case X." Explained the engineer, pulling out a long brown cigar.

"My old instructor had always one of those in his mouth. He was a bastard, but he made sure we were ready for everything. Hehe, good old Schmidt..." Smiled the boy, and put the cigar back, as the a few explosions sounded from the northwestern side; A few seconds later, the radio crackled back to life.

"THEY ARE COMING AT US IN A LARGE SCALE! WE'RE FIGHTING THEM BACK, BUT THEY'RE JUST TOO MANY! WE NEED HELP!" Came the call from Barkhorn, as her MG 42 fired in the background. Through the night, they could see black shadows, rushing towards where the shots came from.

"We should help them too. Sounds like shit goes real over there." Said Lukas, taking his M1G on his shoulder, and stood up.  
"What about this flank? What if they come back?" Asked Shirley.

"I think we can leave it open for the few minutes we are over there. Now come on!" Said the Karlslander and raced off. Shirley just sighted, and raced after him.  
They reached the wall a few seconds later, where all hell had broke loose. Bullets crashed into the wall every few seconds, and the girls had taken cover behind the wall, only looking over it for a few seconds, firing blind into the darkness. Lukas and Shirley crouched to where Hartmann and Barkhorn where.

"Whats the situation Barky?" Asked the 'Steamboy'.

"We can't see the enemy and they're getting closer every few seconds." Explained Barkhorn.

"I see. Do you have any flares here or something?" Asked the boy.

"Nope. But I snatched a few of these." Grinned Hartmann, and showed them a few _Stielhandgranaten._

"That should do the trick." Smiled the engineer, taking the grenades.  
"But you don't know where to throw them." Pointed Barkhorn out.

"Leave that to me." Chuckled the boy slyly, and turned to Shirley, winking at her, letting his eyes glow lightly for a second.

He started the 'Deadlight' again, this time to maximum power, but kept his eyes closed. The straightened up, and opened his eyes, grinning as he blinded the Bolshevik soldiers, stopping them from firing. He pulled the safety cap from the grenades, and threw them as far as he could. After quickly taking out some soldiers that already hid behind the wall, he took cover again, as the first of the Bolsheviks gained their eyesight back, and started to shoot. He hold up his hand, with his fingers spread, as he slowly closed one after one, till his fist was closed, and the grenades went off. The explosions, and the cries of the wounded or dying soldiers, were enough to bring the two lighthearted girls of their Squad to the edge of tears, but they stopped themselves from crying, and stood up, shooting back at the enemy. After a few more minutes, the enemies retreated, and the girls and the boy stopped shooting.

"Well, looks like that's that." Smiled the engineer.

"Yeah, but what about the lights?" Asked Erica, and the boy explained his 'Deadlight'.

"Well, that could get useful right now." Said Barkhorn.

"But we should all better get to our watch posts now. Who knows, maybe their already heading for another part of the wall?" Said Romstein concerned, and started to walk back to his and Shirley's look out point.

The night wore on, and only a few more attacks followed the big one they had at the northwestern side. Lukas, who had spend half of the last day sleeping, was sill wide awake, as the sun slowly started to dawn at the horizon. The other couldn't be said about Shirley. She already was halfway in dreamland. Lukas saw over to her, and saw how sleepy she was.

"You tired?" He asked.

"Yeah." She yawned.

"It's okay. The sun is rising now. You can take a quick nap if you want. It will only be a matter of hours till the Army storms in and wrecks the Bolsheviks." Grinned the engineer.

Shirley nodded, and closed her eyes, leaning her head onto the Karlslanders shoulder. He smiled, and looked over the wall. He didn't noticed the figure, slowly walking up to him from behind him. He just whistled a small tune to himself, and didn't even cared to look around. It wasn't until the figure was right behind him that he did something.

"You can stop sneaking. I know your behind me." Came the bored voice of the engineer, as Eila walked up to him.

"Your no fun." She said.

"What do you want?" Came the annoyed reply.

"I've come to warn you."  
"Warn me?"  
"I looked into your future." She said and held up a Tarot card. On it, was a word that send shivers down his spine 'Death'.

"You should watch out. I've got the feeling that this card isn't talking about something that will happen in the distant future." Said Eila, but was shushed by Lukas.

"Do you hear that?" He asked.

There was a light squeaking in the air, and Romstein looked slowly over the wall, just to see a Orussian tank, rolling slowly towards them.

"Oh shit..."

"What?!" Asked Eila.

"Tank. Medium one. I would Say T34/85. Go and warn the others. I'll try to stop that thing." Said the engineer as he placed Shirley on the ground, and crouched as fast as he could towards the shed. He arrived there after a little while, and walked to the where the Strikers were stored. He opened up Lynettes Striker storage, and took out her anti-tank rifle. He walked out again, and looked through the eyesight, aiming for the driver seat. He pulled the trigger, and the bullet burst through the tank, taking the driver out. The tank braked sharply, and got to a standstill. But it was still alive. Its turret turned to the shed, and aimed at the Karlslander. He aimed again, and shot at the turret. It hit, and the turret stopped moving, stuck in its position. He grinned, and aimed at the fuel tanks. With an final pull of the trigger, he shot into the fuel tank, setting the fuel ablaze, and the resulting pressure let the tanks explode, followed by an bigger one as the ammunition went off. Shirley woke up from the blast, just to saw the tank go up in flames. Lukas panted, and put the weapon back where it belonged. He walked back to Shirley, who smiled with half closed eyes at him.

"Did you really need to be that loud?" she asked cheekily.

"Only for you, bunnygirl." He grinned, as Shirley got a light shade of red on her face.

Just then, there was a loud buzzing, as from the west, the sound of aircraft engines sounded.

"I swear to Christ, if they even got airplanes, I will take them down with my train!" The engineer groaned, but stopped, when he saw a group of shapes, heading their way.

"Seams like we finally got backup." Smiled Shirley, as the 502nd Joint Fighter Wing flew in, landing on the, shortened, runway.

"Good to see that you girls made it." Said Shirley.

"Especially with all the Strikers intact." Grinned Eila, who came up with the others, at Nikka Edvardine Katajainen, who just rolled her eyes.  
"Were not alone." Said Aleksandra I. Pokryshkin, and pointed down into the city, where, from the west, a Orussian armored train rolled into the station.

From their position, they could hear the rattling of machine guns, as the train opened fire.

"I think we should help to. Wouldn't you say?" Smirked Romstein at Sakamoto, who gave one of her trademark laughs.  
"I think so too! Ladies! Get into your Strikers! We've been grounded enough!" Said the Mayor, as the other girls started off to the Sheds.

They were soon in the sky, and on their way to the city. Lukas stood on the tender, his M1903 in his hands, looking through his scope.  
"I don't think we can do much with dogfighting right now. Too many of them in the houses, mostly with civilians. Bastards sure know how to play sitting ducks right." Said the engineer.

"Drat! Do you know a way how were still able to help?" Sakamoto asked him.

"Glad you asked..." Smirked the boy, and got to the weapon storage, opening it, and getting out some shotguns.

"I hope you all know how to use a 12 caliber!" He shouted, and took off the girls weapons, and gave them a shotgun each.

"With these, you can engage in indoor fights! Just hold them steady, cause they can knock one over if you don't keep them under control!" Shouted the engineer, before taking out another gun, and setting his engine on autopilot.

They landed, and started to engage into the battle. They each went as groups, minus Lukas, who was going in solo. They fought through the houses, and soon cleared out most of the eastern part of the city. The soldiers that came with the train had already cleared larger parts of the city, with only the northern part being left. While they fought through another district, when there came a loud radio transmission.

"I must say, I am surprised. I thought you were long since dead. But I see that you did quite well, killing of my men and destroying one of my best tanks. But your luck ends here. Either you will surrender, and give up, or the grand duchess, the old wheezer and those two brats wont see the next day!" Came the voice of Stalin, as he was suddenly cut of, and four other voices were heard.

"DONT DO IT!"  
"HE WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DO IT!"  
" _SAVE YOURSELF! WE'LL BE ALRIGHT!_ "  
"SISTER!"  
"CHRIS!" Shouted Barkhorn, enraged, as her sister was in danger.

"You have the choice: either surrender, and your friends are free, or they'll die with you. You have 30 minutes to come to your base. Time is running." And with that, the radio transmission stopped.

"I WILL KILL HIM! I WILL BLOODY KILL THAT MOTHERFUCKER!" Screamed Gertrude, trying to get to her Striker, but was held back by Erica, Yoshika and Lynette.

"We need to do something, and fast!" Said Lukas, determined to make that Stalin pay.  
"Okay, plan, plan, plan,...! Got one! I sneak into the base, set them free, get them out, we all storm in, and kill everyone who stands in our way!" Said Lukas.

"That is so stupid, it could work." Said Eila.

"But it could work, and it will work." Grinned the engineer, and set off, before anyone could hold him back.

Lukas landed in the little forest that was next to the runway. He sneaked to the sheds, and looked around. Nobody there. He quickly went inside the shed, and walked straight up to an old metal locker. He pushed it aside, and jumped into the hole below. He found the secret entrance a few days ago, but hadn't had the time to tell anyone about it. He walked through the narrow passage, and soon was inside the house, to be exact, in the walls. He looked into every room through small slits in the wood, or through special made hole, that were made into paintings. He soon found the room where the others were kept; the Commanders office. He saw that Anastasia, Ivanow, his son and Chris were tied up, sitting on the ground, being guarded by Stalin himself. He grinned, as he saw him, sitting in the opposite direction to the secret door, with an Togarev pistol in his hand. He grinned, as he saw Stalin take a gulp out of the vodka bottle next to him, and placing it back on the table. He grinned, and silently walked out of the secret door. The four prisoners noticed him, but kept quiet. Lukas sneaked up to Stalin, and took away the bottle. He hauled off, and stopped.

"You know Stalin, alcohol is very bad for your body." Smirked Lukas, as he swung the bottle, and pulled it over the old Bolsheviks head with such a force, that the bottle broke.

Stalin fell to the ground, knock out, and Lukas made his way to free the prisoners.

"It was very dangerous of you, to come here. You could have been killed." Said Ivanow.

"I know. But you would have been killed, and nobody could forgive me if I let you die like this; not Gertrude, not the czar, and especially myself. Now come one, before they get wind that their leader hasn't looked into the bottle too far." Said the engineer, as he got into lead them through the narrow way that was the wall. They soon reached the Shed, where Lukas got to his special project.

"This will set me 2 weeks back, but if it means we can get out of here, then it'll be worth it..." He murmured, and took out a Striker unit, similar to his own, out of the flatbed.

"Hey Chris. Do you think you can fly with a Striker unit?" Asked the engineer, showing the girl the Striker.

"I don't know. I don't even know if I have magical abilities or not." Said the girl sadly.

"I think you have got a great magical power inside you, just like your sister. I even think that she knows that too. Just try it." Encouraged the engineer the girl, and helped her into the unit. She glided into it, and a wave of magical energy washed over her. A pair of smaller Munsterlander dog ears appeared on her head, as well as a tail of the said dog race appeared. She tried to fly, and lifted of the ground.

"I-I did it!" She shouted.

"Keep your voice down! Good work, now, Ivanow, Anastasia, you need to hold on tight to me. _Boy, you will need to travel with Christiane._ Okay?" He asked, getting a collective Ok.

They got outside, after looking if the coast was clear, and Lukas started his Strikers as silently as he could. But it wasn't too silent to not let a guard who was behind the wall, notice the engine starting, and raise his gun at him. Chris saw this, and tried to warn him.

"Lukas, watch out!" She said, but the soldier already fired. Chris let out a loud scream. It was so loud, that it stopped the bullet, and knocked the soldier over.

"Sonic magic huh? Sounds good-" he chortled.

"Now, lets get going. We need to get out quickly." Said Lukas, as Anastasia and Ivanow hung onto the engineer, and Ivanow's kid hung onto Chris. They were quickly making their way down into the city, where the small smoke clouds of Lukas' locomotive showed them their landing place. They got down, and were greeted by a grateful Barkhorn, who nearly cried as she hugged Chris.

"Is she usually like that?" Asked Romstein cheekily.

"When it comes to her sister, absolutely." Grinned Erica.

After a few minutes, Trude went back to her old self, and spoke strictly to her little sister.

"I told you it would be too dangerous! You will return to Karlsland right now!" The older Barkhorn said.  
"Actually, if it wasn't for her, I would be long dead now." Said the engineer, lifting the little girl on his shoulders.

"What?"  
"Yes. A guard wanted to shoot me up there, but your little sister got sonic magic, and with one little scream could stop the bullet, and take out the guard, all by herself. In my eyes, she is a true hero!" Grinned the boy.

"Hear hear!" Said Eila.

"But enough of that now. Stalin has nothing in his hands to stop us now! Sooooo, who is up for a bit butt kicking?" Smirked the engineer, as the others all mounted their Strikers.

"Thought so." Said the 'Steamboy', and got into the cab of his engine, starting it, and blasting the engines whistle long and loud.

The soldiers at the Strike Witches base were securing it firmly, making sure nobody could get in or out. At least, that was what they thought they were doing. But the sound of engines buzzing and pistons puffing made them nervous, and grasp their weapons. They were looking towards the city, and went wide-eyed, when they saw the 11 witches and 1 steam locomotive racing towards them. The girls opened fire, while Lukas had climbed up to the front of the locomotive, with his bottle and pipe lit. He drank from the bottle and inhaled the flame, screaming the flame out, scarring their blood out of their veins. They landed on the runway, and got their weapons ready for ground combat. They were readying themselves for the combat, when Lukas stepped up to the mansion.

"STALIN! I KNOW YOUR IN THERE! I'VE GOT AN OFFER FOR YOU!" He shouted up to the higher level rooms.

"I HEAR!" came the voice of the Bolshevik.

"YOU ARE A MAN OF FIGHT. SO LETS FIGHT! WITHOUT WEAPONS OR ANYTHING! PLAIN HAND TO HAND FIGHT! SHOW YOU CAN HANDLE A FEW GIRLS AND A BOY WITHOUT WEAPONS OR TANKS!" Shouted the engineer to the man. 

"YOU'VE GOT NOWHERE TO RUN STALIN! THE BASE IS SURROUNDED! IF YOU BEAT US, WE LET YOU LEAVE! IF YOU LOSE, YOU WILL SURRENDER!" Finished the boy his speech.

"GOOD! IF YOU WANT A REAL FIGHT, WE GIVE YOU ONE! IN 5 MINUTES ON THE RUNWAY!" Came the response of the Orussian.

"Are you sure we can fight against all of them? I mean, we are only 11 girls, and they are over 30!" Said Minna.  
"Don't worry. I've seen 2 fight against 50, and they made pudding out of the 50." Chuckled the engineer, and pulled his leather gloves off.

The girls stood on the runway, in a semicircle around the engineer, looking at him with with unsure expressions on their faces.

"Are you sure this is a good Idea? We don't know much about hand to hand combat." Said Yoshika.

"No problem. The only real HtH combats I've went through were bar and gang fights." Laughed the boy.

"How did you get into those?" Asked Sakamoto.

"My Shedmates and I weren't called the 'fightclub of Weimar' for no reason! I've learned from the best of the best, Buddy and Terry, those two were the best fighters around. Both from Venicia, and both very though fighters. Rule number 1: Small hits on the head are good for thinking." Smiled the boy, as he put up his puppet, and gave it a heavy hit to the head.

"Rule number 2: if he wants to hit you, use that force and give him one back! Sakamoto, hit me." He said.

The mayor gave the boy a punch in the face, but he shrugged it off, and used the force to give a strike back to the puppet, hitting it in the chest; It sacked together and he gave it a uppercut.

"And Rule number 3: if you get one, give two back! Rule number 4: not enough force in your arm? Use your legs! Last but not least, rule number 5: you are surrounded? You have a partner who can help you out. You are always a team of two. If 20 want to get you, take some in and let your partner pick them off for you!" laughed the engineer, and he pulled the puppets legs away, letting it fall to the ground, before jamming his knee up his stomach, and letting it fall to the ground.

"And that's about everything from my '5 minutes HtH combat lesson for newbies'. And before I forget it: golden rule: NEVER kick somebody between the legs. Now, lets get to it!" He shouted, and walked in front of the girls, to look at a long line of men, all looking angry, and ready to fight.

" _Gentlemen, get ready to get your arse kicked!_ " He shouted to the Orussian men.

The Orussian men shouted something back at him, and charged at the girls. Lukas looked over the left and right side of his shoulder, and grinned victoriously, and began to charge at the men.

He raced towards the men, and slipped in between two of them, grabbing their arms, and turning them around, giving them a double uppercut, and giving them a 'Steamhammer', a hard punch directly onto their head. Minna and Sakamoto hat teamed up, kicking two of the men their legs away, and pulling them up, punching them back down, doing that a few times, before throwing them into the snow.

"I can see why Lukas likes doing stuff like this!" Minna said, while dodging a blow, and giving one in return.

"Yeah! Its a good training, and its funny too." Laughed Mio, and kicked another soldier out of the way, and into the shed door.

Yoshika, Lynette and Perrine were fighting together; while Lynette was mostly taking in punches, Yoshika and Perrine tried to take the others out. Lukas stepped up to the soldier who was fighting Lynette, and gave him a 'Steamhammer'. He pulled him back up, and turned to Lynette.

"Come on, give it a try. Be bold! Make him turn!" Encouraged the engineer.

Lynette hit him lightly on the cheek.

"No no no, harder. He should TURN!" he shouted, hitting him hard on the cheek, a making him turn 360°.

"Try again." He said, and held the man up. Lynette hit him again, this time harder. While he still didn't turn, he did fell something.

"Yes, that's more like it. Full steam!" He smirked, and hit the soldier again, sending him fly.

Both Barkhorn and Hartmann were having an easy time, knowing hand to hand combat from their earlier time in the Karlsland army. While Barkhorn did most of the work, Hartmann dodged most of the punches send to her, till the men were puffed out, and fell from exhaustion.  
"Child play!" Erica chuckled.

"Like back in training!" Grinned Barkhorn, and send another one flying.

While this was happening, Sanya and Eila were fighting away from the main fight with two bigger men. Eila mostly dodged the blows, she fought for two, helping the overly tired Sanya.

"Your holding up there?" She asked, while she jumped, before the man could give her another punch.

"Uhu." Was all Sanya said, as she tricked the other man to charge at her, walking out of his path just in time, like a matador would do with a bull.

Shirley and Lucchini had made their own little tactic: Lucchini would let them chase after her, and when they went past the wall of the shed, Shirley would knock the unfortunate guy out. So far, they got 10 guys down that way.

After a while, the men stopped getting up again, and kept on the ground. Finally, they finished, and gathered back on where they had started.

"Well, tolled you we would be fine!" The engineer chuckled.

"Well, I do think this was rather... refreshing." Chuckled Minna.

"Maybe we can do this again?" Suggested Erica.  
"When the war is over, I show you a good place where there are such fights like here! But till then, I think we should take care of things that matter, like a Joseph Stalin who is still inside the base." Snickered the engineer, as he pointed to the house with his thump.  
They went inside, and started to search for him. Lukas finally found him in the commanding office, on a more or less pleasant way, being nearly shot by the old Orussian, who took cover behind the turned over desk.

"You think I would simply give up, after these idiots failed?! Wrong! I will never surrender!" He said, shooting at Lukas again. The others had come after hearing the shots. Lukas whispered something to Barkhorn, who nodded, and went away. Lukas turned back to Stalin.

"You have no where to run Stalin. The city is secured, your allies are either dead or knocked out, and you only got 4 bullets in the chamber! Why don't you surrender and stop this whole madness?" Asked Lukas.

"I told you! I'll never surrender!" Screamed the Orussian, shooting 2 times at the door. He could hear how a door was opened, and Stalin, shifted. He ran inside, as Stalin shot at Barkhorn, but missed. He grabbed the vodka bottle a second time that day, and hit the old Orussian on the head, yet again. But before the old man could knock out, he shot a last time, right into the chest of the Karlslander.

"Lukas!" Shouted Barkhorn, as the boy went to the ground, a large wound in the chest. Yoshika rushed in, and started to heal the boy, but it went slowly. When Yoshika stopped, he still had a hole in his torso, but it was smaller, and had stopped bleeding.

"His stomach has healed, but I couldn't cover up the wound. We need to cover it up." She said, as Lynne went to get the first aid box.

"Well, looks like we did pretty well, don't you all think?" Chuckled the engineer, before getting his cheek slapped by Shirley.  
"Don't pull of such a crazy stunt again! Even I wouldn't do something like that!" She exclaimed.

They all looked at the usual so carefree Liberion, who now was worried about this Karlslander engine man. The boy just smiled slightly.

"Don't worry Shirley. I won't. Promise." He smiled, and then drifted of to sleep.

"We should follow his example, and get some sleep. After all, we nearly spent 36 Hours awake!" Said Minna, while the others just yawned in agreement. After Yoshika finished to patch up Lukas, she and Lynne walked back to their room. Shirley took Lukas to her and Francesca's room, and put him into her bed, after taking his jacket, shirt and Striker off. After getting rid of her own clothes, she got into bed as well. After quickly checking if Lucchini was still awake (She was sleeping like a rock already) she gave the boy a quick peck on the lips, and drifted of to sleep herself. 


	8. Chapter 8

After being awake for over 36 hours, it was natural that the girls and the boy were more then spent. They slept trough the whole day and the night. While they were knocked out, other witches were called if from different Fighter Wings, who were nearly all gone when the first woke up. Lukas was again one of the first to wake up. He got up, slowly and gently, so to not wake up Shirley or the little kid in the other bed. He got into his Striker, and walked outside, still a bit spent from the wound he still had in his chest. He though of a nice quiet breakfast, but those thoughts were blown out of his mind, as he got closer to the kitchen, hearing the sound of two persons arguing with each other. One was clearly Barkhorn, while the other, although very familiar, couldn't be fitted to a person just yet. He got into the kitchen, just to see Barkhorn, crashing against the other girl, as a strong magical blue dome covered the two. The others came up to the drama, and tried to withstand the strong force that came from the dome, while Lukas just stood there, with an annoyed frown on his face. He got behind the kitchen counter, and poured some water in two large cups. He walked over to the two, and emptied the water over their heads, breaking them out of their little brawl. They looked over to him, with an enraged look on their faces.

"WHAT THE HELL!" They shouted at the boy.

"I don't care why you two fight, but I want to have breakfast in peace! And if you two want to fight, do it AFTER 8am! Now, if you excuse me, Captain Barkhorn and Flight Lieutenant Marseille, I need my morning cup of Coffee, or I'll be a complete Arse for the rest of the day." Said the boy annoyed, and turned to the others, who stood at the door, not completely getting what was going on.

"So, who wants a cup?" He asked to the others.

"I'll take on." Said Minna.

"Good." Grumbled the boy, and went to make the coffee.

While Barkhorn fumed, Hanna Marseille just grinned.

"What got you so happy, birdbrain?" Asked Barkhorn.

"Wait and see." Smiled the girl next to her.

They watches as Lukas made two cups of coffee, as the others already came in and took a seat. For a while, everything was fine; He finished the coffee, and placed the cup in front of Minna, while he took his own. He took a sip, and smiled, as his brain got into working mode once more. He took another sip, this time with open eyes, as he scanned the room, till he landed at Hanna. He stopped abruptly, and spit the blackish drink out.

"WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING HERE?!" He screamed.

"Did it make 'click' up there? Was about time, though, you were always a slow one, you and your clapped out rust heap." Grinned Marseille slyly, while the others turned pale, as the engineer, got red with rage.

"Well, that's some big words coming from the 'Virgin of Marseilles'. But I think I need to drop the 'virgin' part." Growled the engineer, as the others were shocked to hear the engineer talk like that.

"Lukas! That is enough." Said Minna firmly, as Hanna stood up, and walked up the the boy, with an angered expression.  
Lukas replied with the same expression, both glaring at each other for a few seconds. The others all hold their breath, not wanting to see what happened next. Their looks of shock quickly turned to confusion, as both Hanna and Lukas broke down laughing, hugging each other.

"Good show there cous! Did you see their faces?! Gosh, they though we would kill each other!" Laughed Hanna.  
"Indeed, little Star, indeed. How are things in Afrika? How is uncle Ernst?" Asked the boy with an huge smile on his face.

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Asked Barkhorn.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that, but it was just a too good opportunity. Hanna and I are cousins! My uncle is her father, and is fighting in Afrika right now!" Explained Lukas.

"As for him, he told me to give you this." She said, pulling out a small picture of a young boy.  
"Norbert Romstein. Your young cousin. He was born 2 years ago." Smiled the rowdy witch. Lukas gave a small smile.

"Also, for why I am here; Erwin thought it would be good to send me up here, for some time, to 'Cool my hothead of' as he said it. I think its just to get me off his mark for some time." Grinned Hanna.

"Wait! Does that mean, you are going to stay?!" Asked Barkhorn alarmed.

"For the next few months, yes." Said Minna, to which Trude stormed off.  
"Seems like this will be a few nice months." Grinned Lukas, and got back to his coffee.

After Breakfast, the the mood was split; While Lukas was quite happy about having Hanna at the base, some of the witches weren't that enthusiastic about the whole situation.

"This is an outrage! Marseille hasn't got any kind sense of respect for higher ups, and is disrespecting every order she is getting! I wont fight with such an, such an,... disgrace of Karlsland!" Shouted Barkhorn at Erica, who was unfortunate to be near her as she started her ranting.

"But there is nothing we can do about it." Came Minna's voice, as the commander came inside the room.

"Its an direct order from general Erwin Rommel. Even if I wanted to send her away, orders are orders." She sighted.

Meanwhile, Lukas was with Hanna aboard the 'George Washington'. The engineer was just showing her around his train, when she started to talk.

"I see you lived yourself in pretty well here."  
"Yeah, but that's no wonder. All of them are so kind and friendly; its nearly impossible to not be friends with them!" Laughed the boy.

"And what about the others?" She asked.  
"What others?" Asked the engineer casually.

"Don't try to fool me Romstein. Alex? Tobias? Bud? Terence? Did you forget them?!"  
"OF COURSE I DIDN'T FORGET THEM!" He shouted back, enraged.  
"But, Alex... He is in the Royal Air Force, and Tobias is in Britannia, still trying to get something to replace his missing leg! And Buddy and Terry are missing! I just... nevermind!" he ranted, and after that, went outside, leaving a slightly stunned Hanna Marseille behind.

Lukas walked off, to the back of the Shed, where his project was. Next to it was a little boxing ring, with an punching back next to it. He took his upper uniform parts off, and started to punch the bag, time and time again. He looked to the right, to see some photos. The biggest two showed him, in front of an old brick shed, with an bigger, dirty blond man, and an slightly shorter and older man, with black hair, which slightly turned gray. Both of them wore old Karlsland railway uniforms, and were sitting with Lukas on the running plate of an old Karlsland locomotive, grinning at the camera. The other picture showed him, with two Venician men. One was a bigger, slightly skinny, and had blond hair, and blue eyes, while the other one had black hair and was a bit smaller, and a bit more chubbier then the first one. The both men were laughing, while they were fighting against 6 or 7 other people, as Lukas took on 3 people at once. Lukas punched the bag very hard, when a loud cracking was heard, and the bag fell onto the floor, followed by an rope, and a piece of wood. He stopped, and walked to the pictures. He looked closely at the pics, picking up the first one. He took the pic out of the frame, showing that it was actually bigger. He unclasped the picture, showing another person, a bit bigger then him, leaning against the running board. He felt tears running, and put the picture back in place. He sat down on the flatbed, and let the tears run.

"Lukas?" Came a voice, and he stopped crying, turning around sharply, just to see Minna, walking up to him.

"Hello Ma'am. *sniff* What are you doing here?" He asked, sniffing slightly.

"I was going to talk to Hanna, but I heard something fall down from the back here.-" She looked at the pictures.

"-where they friends of yours?" She asked.

"Yes. Best friends, in fact. Alexander Tannenbaum, Tobias von Stauffenberg, Bud Pedersoli and Terence Girotti. They were working with me back in Karlsland, but... the war took them from me, one way or another. Either they're lost in the fight, or lost in flight..." He stated, tears starting to weld up again.

"You aren't the only one who has lost people in the war. I've lost an old friend in operation dynamo. Sanya lost her parents; they are somewhere lost in Orussia but... she hasn't heard from them, at all. We all lost someone who was precious to us thanks to this war, but we are all fighting to see them once again, or just to let their deaths not to be in vain." Said Minna, sitting next to him.

Lukas was silent after that, his tears have stopped, and he wasn't sobbing anymore. He then stood up, Minna doing the same. He turned to her, and hugged her tightly.

"Thanks Ma'am. I think I know what to do now." He said, smiling.

Unknown to them, a pair of eyes had watched them. Shirley had come in to do some work on her Strikers, but was shocked to see the commander and Lukas, hugging in the corner of the sheds. Hanna had seen this, smiling smugly.

"Well well well, looks like cousin got himself some admirers. Lets see how this goes..."

Lukas came back to his engine, but passed her, and got to the small workbench beside it. He started work on something; something, to remind him of his duty. After a few hours, he had finished his work. He picked up the iron plate, and screwed it to the smokebox of his engine. He stepped back, and examined his work.

' _forged in steam, dissolved by a beam, but together we stand, and united we fall'_

"What does that mean?" Came a voice. He looked behind him, to see Yoshika, standing behind him.

"What are you doing here, and how long are you standing there?!" He shouted, alarmed that he didn't noticed the small Fuso girl.

"I-I just came to tell you that lunch is ready!" She stuttered, stunned by the outburst. The engineer just sighted.

"It means that, no matter where we are, or how far we are apart, we will always stand together." Explained the engineer with an small smile on his face. He then pulled out the picture of his small cousin.

"And by god, I will be damned if we can't end this war! I've gotta make sure the world is a save place, so that the next generation never needs to fight ever again!" He said firmly, before his stomach growled.

"But, I think the better tomorrow will need to wait till after lunch..." Chuckled the boy foolishly, and followed Yoshika back to the house.

Inside, there was a lot of tension between Barkhorn and Marseille. Lukas sensed this, and came up with an good way to loosen up the mood. He got to the radio, and turned it on, setting it to an Karlslander channel.

" _Were now talking with two war heroes, who fought in the Battle of Britannia, and risked their lives in the evacuation of hundreds of women and children in operation dynamo; Alexander Tannenbaum, and Tobias von Stauffenberg. What was it like, to help in the evacuation of all those women and children?"_ Asked the radio man.

" _Well, at first, it wasn't just me and Tobias. We had two more friends who helped with the evacuation that day. They were Lukas and Martin Romstein. And if any of those two are listening to this, we hope you can hear us, and I hope you two are alright and well. Maybe, one day, we can meet all up at the old sheds again-"_ But the transmission was cut, as Lukas cut out the radio, and went outside.

"Don't you want to eat something?" Asked Lynette.

"No. No, I don't feel hungry anymore..." murmured the engineer, before slowly walking out of the door.

"What's wrong with him? And who is that Martin?" Asked Erica.

"He is, or better was, his brother." Came the quiet reply from Hanna.

"He never told us he had a brother!" Shouted Francesca.

"Do you would want to talk about your dead sibling?" Came the sharp voice of the Karlsland witch, to which the others went very quiet.  
The silent was eerie, till they heard the pumping of pistons from outside. They raced out, just to see the steam locomotive lifting off, towards the west.

"LUKAS!" Screamed Hanna, but the engineer didn't hear her, he was gone.

They checked the shed for any hint of why he left, till Perrine found a letter, on the workbench.

" _I'm off for a little while. Will be back in 3 days. -Lukas-"_

"Where could he travel to?" Asked Yoshika, but no one could give her an answer.

"What happened to his brother?" Came Mios voice, as she asked the Afrika corps witch.

"It isn't a nice story." She stated, but started anyways.

"Lukas had a brother, who was a few years older then him. They were very close, and loved the railways very much. They both worked on engines the same class, on the same branchline, and always went to the same bar after work. They both worked on the evacuation trains when the neuroi attacked us. Lukas pulled off with his 'Number 7', while he pulled off with his 'Old 6' after him. Lukas arrived ahead of schedule, and was ordered to board the ' _Saint Michael'_ , the next ship that would be leaving for Britannia. He argued, tolled the officials that he needed to wait for his brother, but they wouldn't listen, and told him that the last ship, the ' _Krakatoa'_ would take him over. He had a bad feeling about that, but said nothing, and boarded the ship. He waited for over 3 hours at the Folkestone, till he could see a neuroi beam, destroying the harbor of Calais. He went pale, and asked the nearest soldier about the ' _Krakatoa_ '. He told him that it broke down, and was destroyed by the neuroi. I don't know what happened afterwards, but from what I heard from his parents, he was gone for 5 days, working in the shunting yards at Folkestone, till he got himself to go back to his family. By the looks of things, he kept his emotions inside since that day, bottling it up, till he heard Alex talk about him." Explained Hanna.  
The others were shocked, some more and some less, about Lukas' fate. Minna knew what he went through, and understood his feelings. Yoshika, Lynne and Francesca had tears in their eyes, while the others just stared into space, or at the floor.  
"Any Idea where hes heading to?" Asked Minna.

"Maybe he flew to Calais? The ship broke down before it could leave the harbor, so it didn't sink completely. Maybe, hes searching for Martin inside the wreckage, believing he is still alive?" Suggested Marseille.

"I will contact Paris right away. They will send a message to Calais, to let Lukas know that he should come back right away!" Said Minna, and walked to the telephone...

 **15 hours later, near Pas de Calais**

The 'Commander' flew over the countryside that was around the city of Calais. He slowed his engine down as he neared the outskirts of the city, and started to land as he could see the harbor. He flew over it, silent, as to not make any unnecessary attraction. But he couldn't know that two figures were standing near the harbor masters office, eyeing the flying engine closely.

"Do you really think its him?" Asked an elderly voice.

"No doubt about it. That's the same bark." Came the sharp reply, but that was followed by an loud crashing sound behind them.

They turned around, to see a car, a very modern and new one, lying on its side, as a fork lift backed away from it. Out of it came another man, who grinned cheekily at the two of them.

"Well, who doesn't listen..." He began, while the other two just rolled their eyes, smiling.

Lukas landed his engine on the deck of an old, rusty ship, that was rotting away in front of the harbor entry. He jumped out of the cab, and looked around. In the back of his mind, he could hear the sound of the ship, hard at work; he could see figures, standing at the railing, all looking glumly back to the mainland. He walked along the deck, and soon went underneath it. He walked to the cargo hold, where a lot of cars, bikes, and trains stood. He could see the large hole, that was created from the neuroi beam. He walked to one of the trains; It was small, with an little locomotive at the front, with 4 small wheels and big lamps. She was slowly rusting, and was beyond repair. He touched the old boiler, which still spotted some fainted green paint. He got to the cab, and got inside it. He looked around, tears welding up again as old memories from bygone times flooded back into his mind. He then saw something, written onto the glasses of the gauges.

" _Don't cry about spilled milk. It can't be saved anyway._ ".

He looked at the massage for a long time, and then took his gaze off of it, and turned to an old locker. He broke it open, and looked inside. Next to some bottles of beer, an rotten apple and some tools, were some books. He recognized them, and opened one of them. He looked through the old photo album, smiling at them. When he came to the last page, he saw a ripped piece of paper, with his name written on it. Confused, he turned it, and looked at the letter.

" _Lukas,_

 _The ship has stopped, and the neuroi have already attacked the harbor. I don't think I will see you again, but I know that 'old 6' will survive this. I heard that you went onto the other ship, and reached Britannia safely, with mother and father. I hope you could survive this war, if it already ended. If not, please don't do anything stupid. I don't want to see you up here too soon. We will meet each other, some day, but till then, don't grieve over me. You have to fight for our family, and the future. I hope you can life your live to the fullest, and that you will find someone to share your time on earth with. I need to end here, the neuroi have started firing._

 _Martin Romstein"_

Lukas had tears, running down his cheek, as he finished reading. He put the letter back into the book, and took the books under his arm. He stepped out of the engine, his tears had stopped, and he had fierce expression on his face. He walked firmly out of the cargo hold, but before that, he put a note onto the engine 'Not to be moved until further notice'. He walked onto the deck, but was greeted there by a group of soldiers, all pointing their rifles at the boy.

"At ease." Came the order, and the men stood back, letting 4 people walk up to him.

Lukas' eyes went wide, as he saw the four figures standing in front of him.

"BUT IT CAN'T BE!"

 **501** **st** **Joint Fighter Wing, Ural base, the next morning**

The girls all got up in an foul mood. After Lukas had left, they felt miserable for him; nearly all of them had lost their homeland, but loosing a family member? That was only something a few of them had experienced, and they didn't want to go through that. They were all silently eating their breakfast, when the neuroi alarm went off.

"Damn it! Why does it need to be correct, at a time like this?!" Grumbled Mio.  
"I know, but we need to take these ones down, and fast!" said Minna.

"Wait, there are two?!" Asked Shirley.

"Yes. One is heading for the city, while the other one is heading straight for Suomus. We will split up into two groups: Shirley, Lucchini, Miyafuji, Bishop, Clostermann and Marseille are going after the one heading for New Republiska, and I, Sakamoto, Barkhorn, Hartmann, and Juutilainen will take care of the one heading for Suomus." Said Minna, as they took off with their Strikers, getting a collective 'Roger' from the others.

Shirley's group soon found the neuroi. It was formed in an triangle form. As they got closer, it glowed red, and split up into five smaller triangles.

"Fair match huh? That'll make things interesting." Smiled Hanna, and started to fire at the one of the triangles. They fought hard, but these neuroi were different then the others. They weren't just flying forwards, but also sideways and even backwards, making it difficult to take them down. They didn't even noticed the new sound, that came over through their radio. They were panting slightly, as they were surrounded by the smaller ships.  
"How are you on your ammo?" Asked Shirley.

"Not much left."

"Nearly out."  
"Last round."  
"I've got about half of mine still in."

"Seams like this is going to be tough." Grumbled Shirley. The neuroi readied themselves for another shot, when there was the sound of two MG's firing, and two of the neuroi blew up.

"Are they already finished with the other one?" Asked Perrine, but that thought was destroyed by the loud blasting of **3** steam whistles, as 3 different engines raced towards them. While one was clearly the 'Commander', the other two were bigger, and looked much stronger, then the small Liberion locomotive. They were pitch black, with big boilers, and 10 small driving wheels. They each gave off their whistles, which sounded like a demon's scream. Then, a well known voice broke in through the radio.

"Sorry that it took so long, but I've brought in some assistance for us!" Chuckled Lukas Romstein, as he, and the two bigger locomotives split up, racing towards the other neuroi. They were already turning towards the engines, and readied their weapons against the engines. They fired their beams, but the engines easily got out of their way, and went even faster, heading for them, while the girls gave them fire support. The three engines blasted their whistles as they crashed into the neuroi. But instead of stopping, they crashed right through them, splitting them in half, while Lukas had the front of his engine covered with core fragments. The three engines slowed to an stop, right next to each other, hovering in mid-air, while Lukas flew out to the others. But he couldn't get far, as he was tackled by Francesca, Lynette and Yoshika, and pulled into a group hug.

"Your back!"  
"Were did you go?"  
"Where did you get those two new engines?"  
"I thought you were on holiday?" Grinned Shirley, as she, Perrine and Hanna came up to them.

"I was, but these guys convinced me to store them some more, till I get enough days off for a good fight back home!" He grinned, pointing at the two black engines, that hovered in mid air, with now two people each at the window and door of each engine.

"Its good to see that he found a nice squadron to fight with." Chuckled the oldest of them.

"Yeah, but I can't see how he can copes with all these girls." Smiled the one with an goatee.

"Well, he seams to manage, and so should we. I just hope they got a good bar around here. I need some good stuff after this!" Laughed another man, with an full beard and small eyes.

"You just want to punch some teeth out, don't you?" Asked the first one. The one with the beard just shrugged, but nodded his head.

"Oh, I completely forgot: Ladies, please say hello to Alexander Tannenbaum, Tobias von Stauffenberg, Bud Pedersoli and Terence Girotti, better known as the 'Fight Club of Weimar'." Grinned Lukas, as the men each perked up when their names were called.

"Its a pleasure to fight with you." Said Tobias formally.

"Wait, does that mean they are going to fight alongside us?!" Asked Lucchini.

"Yes, yes it does. I've got the Order from the Kaiser of Karlsland, which states that Lukas, Tobias and I are going to become the first members of the First Independent Karlsland Railway Corps, or FIKRC, with Lukas getting a promotion to Captain and commanding officer of the Corps. The FIKRC is also going to be under the leadership of the 501st for the time were stationed in Orussia." Explained Alex in an military fashion.

"Well, you don't get this everyday." Chuckled Hanna.

"Say Alex, isn't that the little Hanna? You know, Hanna Marseille?" Asked Tobias, as he saw the Afrika corps witch.

"I think it is. Hey there little Star. I see you still haven't changed?" Smirked Alex.

"And I see that you two are still married." Smiled Hanna slyly, as Alex growled.

"Um, not to be the partypooper here, but shouldn't we help the others? I mean, they are still fighting against that other neuroi." Said Lukas, matter-of-factly.

"I think so too. Ladies! Get aboard! We'll be there in a few!" Shouted Alex, and got back inside his cab.

 **2 hours later**

They were all back at the base again. While Tobias and Alex were checking out the base, Bud and Terence were walking to the town; They were still going to stay at the base, but they were only there to train the girls and the three from the FIKRC in advance hand to hand combat. Lukas was sitting with some of the others at the dining table, eating dinner, or at least he wanted, but that was cut short when both Mio and Minna told him off for leaving the base without permission. After that, he got out his photo album, and looked inside it, showing the others some of the pictures.

"And this here was when Hanna visited us, when I was twelve. I was engine cleaner at that time, and pulled a prank on her, by letting my bucket fall on her head. She looked hilarious!" He laughed, and showed them a picture of Hanna, soaked in soapy water, while Lukas stood behind her on a passenger engine, laughing.

"And this was after I got the allowance to drive steam locomotives. Man, I looked like an idiot that day." He smiled, and showed them another picture of him, as he stood at the station of Weimar, where the station master and every engineer, fireman and staff were standing around him, while some engines were blasting their whistles.

"And this... I forgot when we did this." He chuckled nervously, as he showed a picture, a newer on, that he sorted in earlier, with Dr. Miyafuji, as he tested Emma for the first time.  
"That was quite a stunt I did there! I nearly had her crash into the lab, but stopped her just in time!" He said, but then looked at Yoshika, who eyed her father on the picture. He took it out.

"Here, you should keep it. It is better off with you, then in such an old book." He smiled kindly, and gave Yoshika the photo.

After a little while, they were all going to bed. Lukas went outside, and caught a glimpse of Sanya as she started off for her night duty. He walked into the sheds, and saw a light at the back of the sheds. He walked over, to see his old friends, sitting around an small table, playing poker.

"Pants down! Full house!" Smirked Alex.

"Not so fast pal. Four aces." Said Terence, and placed down his cards, just as a shot rang through, and one of the aces had a hole in it.  
"I saw how you pulled out that ace from your boot. Better luck next time. And now scoot over, I need a place to sit myself you know!" Huffed the engineer cheekily, and sat next to Bud and Terence.  
As the night wore on, they were playing one game after the other, and the sheds were filled with laughter, jokes and the unmistakable smell of Karlslander beer... 


	9. Chapter 9

**Somewhere in Karlsland:**

 **In a house, a man with an Karlsland Railway hat sat at a PC, writing on something, as there was a loud crash from behind him. He turned around, just to see all 11 Witches, dazed and confused on the ground.**

" **Okay, the 501st is in my room, without pants or skirts on, and I'm not wearing pants. Normally, I would wake up now. So, this can only go well."**

" **Who are you, where are we and why did you bring us here?!" Asked Barkhorn.**

" **First: Welcome to Karlsland of 2015: The world is even more fucked up then back in 1945, your in my house, and I don't have the slightest Idea why you are here, but I'm writing a story about you lot, so, if you have any more questions, please ask them, or get out till I put on my pants."  
"What, 2015.. WE ARE 70 Years in the future!"  
"Good work finding that out Sherlock. Now, if you would leave, I've got a chapter to write."**

The next few weeks went past quickly, with only the usual neuroi attacks. Alex and Tobias had worked themselves in right away, and were making friends with the other witches. Bud and Terence started with their work, training the witches in hand to hand combat. On their first morning, they gathered the witches in the shed, where the boxing ring was.

"Buongiorno, welcome, to our special hand to hand combat training! We will show you how to stand up in a fight, even if they outnumbered you 5 to 1." Smiled Terence.

"Small question? Why are we doing this?! We don't need this kind of training, Lukas taught us everything we need to know about this, and we did some fights back in Karlsland too!" Asked Trude.

"Oh, you think you know how to fight? Well then, lets see what you can do." Said Bud, and stepped forward.

"You want to fight me? Better call your friend over, so that you at least stand a chance!" Smirked the witch.

"Less talk and more fight." Was his only answer, as Terence rang a bell, that was placed near the ring.

Barkhorn started off quickly, and punched him right in the stomach. But the Venician man didn't even fling, he just smiled at the girl, and gave her a punch back, sending her flying to the corner.

"You need to take in more. You cant fight if one can send you flying like that. I do think that Lukas taught you some good stuff, but he is still wet behind his ears. And so do you. Now, lets see if you have the stuff that it takes to fight and win against one of us!" He said, and got out of the ring.

They fought hard, but in the end, all the girls were out of the ring, while both Bud and Terence were still standing upright, and chuckling to each other.

"We'll begin training right in the morning." Said Bud, as he and Terence walked away.

And they did. The next few days were filled with training. While Terence taught the younger girls (Yoshika, Lynette, Perrine and Lucchini), Bud worked with the older girls. While they did that, two of the three FIKRC engineers were working on their engines, keeping them in top condition. While they were under the leadership of Minna, Lukas would also get and give orders. Since their squadron was formed, they had their hands full with work, and this wasn't just the neuroi. They were often drafted in to take an extra military special from one of the supply depots to the front, or to help with taking out some of the left over Bolshevik partisans. Right now, they were oiling the motion parts of their engines, when they heard the wail of the 'Commander', as it slowly steamed into the shed.

"How was the trip?" Asked Alex.

"Like always. Partisans halfway to the front, gave me a few scratches." He said, as he jumped from the cab, wincing as he landed, a patch of blood on his uniform. Alex and Tobias looked at him with stern faces.

"Well, maybe a bit more then just a scratch." He chuckled, as he showed them a roughly patched up wound, made from a bullet.

"Hm, looks like from a Moisin. Better get Miyafuji to patch that one up." Murmured Tobias, as Lukas stopped him.  
"Its just a little wound! I've got the bullet out already, so it'll heal of soon enough. Better not stop their training." Argued the young Captain, as he turned towards the girls, as they fought against each other.

The other two engineers just sighted. Lukas always hid his wounds, marking them off as 'just another scratch', even if they were pretty serious. The boy walked to the tender, where he took out an oil can, and started oiling the engine parts.

"I think were in for a treat." He said, to no one in particular.

"Why's that?" Asked Alex.

"'cause there is a truck labeled 'Neu Karlsland Research and Development' in coming up the mountain when I came back." Chuckled the boy.

"New toys?" Asked the blond man.

"Maybe. Or their just coming to take your engines back to the R&D!" Laughed the engineer, as they heard a horn from the other side of the mansion.

"Lets see what the guys from back home sent us, aye?" Grinned the Captain, and walked off, the other two coming up after him, shaking their heads, chuckling.

Outside stood a large truck, in Karlsland gray. Out of the passenger seat stepped a girl that looked exactly like Erica, only that she wore glasses, like Lukas did.

"Where are they?" She asked, but it was soon answered, as Lukas stepped up.

"Hey Hartmann! Do you know where the R&D guys are? I want to asked if they got any new toys for us." Laughed the engineer, as he came up next to her.

"Hey, since when do you wear glasses?" He asked, as she turned around, looking at the three men.

"Since always. As for the your first question, I-" But she was cut off, as the others came up, after finishing training.

"Ursula!" Grinned Erica, as she came up to her twin.

"Hello Erica." The other twin said.

Lukas looked at the two for a few seconds, first at Erica, then at Ursula and back to the first.  
"Dear lord help us, TWO of them?! How did the world survive this long?!" He half shouted, as the others chuckled.

"What did you bring us Ursula?" Asked Minna.

"I just wanted to tell these three here. If you would follow me." Said the girl, as she walked to the back of the truck, where some of the men were already unloading the cargo.

Next to some crates, stood three new Striker units. Not just any, but Jet Strikers. Along with them were 3, 50mm BK-214 guns. But the most shocking thing was the 28cm K5 Gun, that was alongside it.

"We finally finished developing the Jet Strikers, and these three are the first finished ones. Along with them are the BK-214 automatic cannon." Explained Ursula.

"And what about the K5? We couldn't use that one, even if we would all carry it at once!" Said Barkhorn.

"Yes, that's why I have ordered it." Said Lukas.  
"What?!"

"Yes. I have been working in my spare time on something. Something big. And with this thing, I can finally finish it. It will be a perfect addition to our current firepower." Said the engineer.  
"What will that be?" Asked Mio.

"Why don't you come and see? I just need a few minutes to get the K5 into position."

 **25 Minutes later**

"Yeah right, just a few minutes. Half an hour would be the correct word!" Grumbled Eila.  
"Well, you have to give him the time, seeing that the K5 isn't just a mere Anti Aircraft gun. It can take out anything up to an 30 mile limit." Said Tobias, as he drank a cup of coffee.

Just then, a loud shot was heard from outside. They all went out, to see a massive flatbed, with the K5 mounted onto it.

"Say hello to ' _Leopold_ '! With this, there wont be anything left for a neuroi to regenerate!" Grinned Lukas, as he stood on the large railway gun.

"Just how long did you work on that thing?!" Asked Shirley.

"Only 3 or 4 months. It would have been finished sooner, but I couldn't find a suitable barrel for it. So I needed to order it from R&D, so it could be controlled from the engine! It is also a self-reloader. I've got 25 shells, stored inside the frame, so that I don't need to care that much about ammo." Lukas grinned, as the girls eyed the big artillery with wide eyes.

"Do you really thing that it can be used in battle?" asked Mio.

"Of course! The couplings are secured with 3 different types of couplers. The sides are armored with the best Steel there is, and the shells are stored in a special safety container, so that they cant explode if it does get hit. Now, all we need is a neuroi..." As on cue, the air raid sirens blasted, signaling a neuroi was on the move.

"Perfect timing. Now lets get going!" He smirked, and started off.

The other girls and the two KRG Class 50 and 52 engines were racing behind the war train. They soon neared the neuroi. It was shaped like an cube, with red dots over it. As soon as they got closer, it split into smaller ones.

"Looks like the testing needs to wait, you can't fight against that lot with that gun!" Said Barkhorn.

"Watch me." Grinned the engineer, as he loaded the first round.

The guns barrel turned to the swarm of neuroi, that was heading for them. He fired, and the shell flew towards the neuroi. They got out of the shells way, but weren't prepared for what happened next. The shell exploded, and the shrapnel pierced many of the neuroi. Lukas took his shovel, and a piece of chalk, as he pulled 4 streaks on it, one for every 10 neuroi that had been hit. The small neuroi started to fire at the train, but he simply outmaneuvered them, with a few barrel rolls and altitude drops. He fired again, and again, and again. The three shells took some of the neuroi out already, and exploded again, the shrapnel taking out another 90 neuroi. Lukas pulled two levers, and pressed both buttons next to the levers, activating the mini guns that were next to the smokebox. The last few neuroi were destroyed by the guns, and with a splintering cracking sound, the core split from the last and only neuroi that was still there. Lukas stopped his little firing display, and smiled back at the group of girls and the two other engineers, that had watched him with wide eyes and open mouths. He grinned at them, but stopped, when he saw someone, or rather, something, behind the tender of Alex's engine. It looked like a witch, but it was covered in black, with red parts where the wings of the Striker would be. The familiar was black too, with blue spots. When the thing saw Lukas staring at him, it raced off. Now he saw that it was a neuroi, a witch shaped neuroi. He grabbed his M1903, and pointed it at the neuroi, but lowered his rifle.  
"What is it? Why did you point your gun at us?" Asked Yoshika.

"There was a neuroi! It was shaped like a witch; now that I think about it, it looked like you. It was watching us, from behind Alex's engines tender." Explained Lukas, as the color washed from Yoshikas face.

"What is it?" Asked the engineer.

"The last time that neuroi appeared, was over Venicia. But it was shot down by another neuroi." Started Minna.

"Miyafuji has quite a past with it, but I think we should discuss this back at the base." Said Mio, as the sun slowly began to sink behind the horizon.

Back at the base, Lukas was given the folder, containing the last appearance of the humanoid neuroi, and the things that happened afterwards.

"I read about it in the paper, but as usual, only parts of the true story comes to the public." Said Alex.

"So this neuroi has a bonding with Yoshika, huh? Well then, how about we try it again?" Suggested Lukas.

"You mean, we should try to contact with the neuroi again?" Asked Minna.  
"Yes. That neuroi seams to be peaceful, or at least, is trying to communicate with us; it would have shot us otherwise. So, how about Yoshika goes back to where we were earlier, and tries to communicate with the neuroi again? Maybe, we could end this war with that!" Smirked Lukas.

"Sounds like a plan, but the chances of failure are high. What do you suppose should we do, if it is a trap?" Asked Mio.

"Don't worry. I will escort her and stay by her side, so that such a thing can't happen." Said the Karlslander.

"Then its settled. Tomorrow, You and Miyafuji will go out and search that neuroi, and try to communicate with it once more!" Said Mio.

"You should better get some rest now." Said Minna, and ordered them to go to sleep.

Lukas changed into his nightwear, which was only his underpants and undershirt, and a pair of socks, and got into the bed on the firemans side of the cab. He closed his eyes, but opened them quickly, when he heard someone walking up to his engine. He got up, and pulled his Revolver from its holster. He got out of the cab through the front cab doors, and walked along the side of the boiler. He got down at the front of his engine, and sneaked back to the cab, where he could see a dark figure standing in front of it. He started his 'deadlight' up, just to see Yoshika, standing next to the cab.  
"Miyafuji? What are you doing here? You should be sleeping right now!" Grumbled the engineer.  
"Can we talk? And could you... put some pants on?" She asked, getting slightly red.

Lukas looked down himself, and then jumped into the cab.

"Give me a minute!" He called from the dark cabin.

He came out again, with his pants and jacket on, and his hat loosely placed on his head.

"What do you want to talk about?" The boy asked.  
"I want to talk about the neuroi. Its just that, I don't think we should try to pick up contact with them."  
"But why? We could end the war, if we could communicate with them!"  
"I know, but it seams like, every time we try to make contact with them, something bad happens. First, we were forced to dissolved the 501st, and then the gigantic hive over Venicia appeared! I just don't want to have anything bad happen, if we pick up contact." Said Yoshika, saddened.

"But what if the neuroi wanted to warn you about these things? I heard what happened in Britannia; You were in the hive, they showed you the Warlock, and that it was part neuroi! And they didn't even had a chance to communicate with the one in Venicia! It could have wanted to warn us from the big hive back then, but it was just bad timing! And right now, we have the neuroi at the breaking point! Maybe they want to make peace with us? We at least should try to listen to them, instead of just shooting each others arse off!" Said the engineer harshly. He looked over to the Fuso witch, and sighted.

"Listen. If you don't want to come, its fine. I'll go by myself, okay?" He said, with an hopeful look on his face. Yoshika didn't react.

"If you don't want to talk to me, fine. But please, I've got an very important job tomorrow, and I need my sleep. So, Flight Officer Miyafuji, if you would please go to your room, that would be good. Good night." Said the young Captain annoyed, and turned to his engine.

"And shut off the lights when you go!" He shouted after her, as the young witch walked out of the shed...

 **The next morning**

"Well, I'm off. Wish me luck, and we might end this slaughter." Said Lukas, as he stood in his engine.  
"Are you sure Yoshika is sick? She never was sick before, or at all!" Asked Lynette.

"I'm perfectly sure. _Tschüssikovski_!" Said the engineer, as he pulled the throttle open, and brought the engine up to speed.

Yoshika looked out of the window, watching as Lukas raced off. She sighted, thinking back to the day in Britannia when things started to go wrong in the first place.

'I just hope nothing goes wrong this time...'

Lukas slowed his engine down, till it was just hovering in the air. He was at the exact same spot as yesterday, and was waiting for the neuroi. He waited for nearly 10 minutes, till he felt the presence of someone or something behind him. He turned around, to see the witch shaped neuroi, hovering in the air next to his engine. He walked to the other side, and pulled out his rifle. The neuroi was making attempts to turn, but stopped when he saw how Lukas placed the rifle on the running board of the engine.

"I don't want to do any harm. I've only come to speak." Said the engineer calmly, looking at the neuroi.

The neuroi just hovered outside, not doing anything. Lukas took that as a sign to talk.

"Why do you fight against us? Why did you come to our world, only to attack us? We could have coexisted, so why, why did you do all this?" Asked the young Captain.  
The neuroi said nothing.

"If you don't want to answer, so be it. I wont shoot you. I hoped that we-"  
" _We_ " Lukas stopped talking, as a sound came from the neuroi. It sounded like Yoshika's voice.

"What, did you say?" Asked the engineer, shocked that the neuroi started to talk.

" _We didn't started to fight_ " Said the neuroi. The words sounded cut off, like it was playing different records after each other.

"What do you mean?"

" _We came to earth, but we didn't wanted to fight. You send your planes, you attacked us._ "

"I see. But why didn't you tell us?"  
" _We tried, but we couldn't understand your language. We only want to have peace, most of us want._ "

"Most of you?"  
" _Many have lost friends in this war, not only you. Some of us only want to avenge the loss of those, who were their friends, and family. I can feel you have the same feelings._ "

"My brother died in an neuroi attack on Calais, but I don't want to let these feelings take me over; I want to have a peaceful life, not one that is lead on the war path." Explained the engineer.

" _I understand._ "

"So, what now? Since we've come to terms, we should end this war. Too many have fallen, on both sides. We should go to the supreme Allied command, and talk things out." Suggested Romstein.

" _It would be for the best. But first, we need to end the battles between neuroi and humans. I will contact the leaders of the Ural hive, and order a truce._ "

"Thank you. I will call the leader of the Orussian army, and tell him that there will be a fire pause for a undetermined time. We will wait for you at our base in the mountains, outside of New Republiska... um, begging your pardon, but do you have a name?"

" _No, we never needed names._ "

"Well, we'll figure something out. Simply calling you neuroi just wont do. Till we figured out a proper name, how about 'Neuroi girl', or just 'girl' for short?" Asked the engineer.

" _This will do. I will come, when I've convinced the hive leaders to make a truce._ " Said the neuroi, and flew off.

Lukas saw after 'girl', as she disappeared, and started his engine off. Just then, it hit him; he, and the whole 501st, had probably started the end of the war. With this in mind, he grinned happily, and let the whistle blast out long and loud.

He soon arrived back at the base, where he was greeted by Shirley, Lucchini and Tobias, who were in the sheds right now, working on their Strikers and engine respectively. Lukas jumped out of the cab, and walked over to the three.

"And, how did it go?" Asked Tobias.

"Pretty well, otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten home." Snickered Lucchini.

"Get everyone to the main hall, ASAP! I've got good news." Grinned the engineer, as he raced out of the shed, and towards the mansion.

He quickly went to Minnas office, and busted in, but wasn't prepared for what he saw: There were Minna and Mio, both kissing each other, but quickly pulling away, blushing bright red.

"You didn't saw anything." Said Mio sternly.

"I didn't see what?" Asked the engineer cheekily, before turning serious again.

"I've found the neuroi, and could talk to him."  
"Wait, what?!" Asked Mio.  
"Yes. It appears to have recorded our voices, and took Miyafujis voice to communicate with me. It told me that they don't want to fight anymore, and it is right now asking for a truce on their side. I've told it that I would do the same, so, please let me make a call." He explained, and grabbed the phone.

He quickly tipped in the number of the Orussians Army's HQ, and quickly tolled the man who answered him that he wanted to speak the supreme commander of the Orussian Army, and that he got important information that could change the war. After a few seconds, a gruff voice answered him.

"Da, this is General Woroschilow speaking."

"Hello General, this is Lukas Romstein, Captain of the First Independent Karlsland Railway Corps speaking. You probably wont believe me, but we just had contact with a neuroi."

"We have this all the time, if its that why you have called me, I don't understand why it is so important to the war outcome." Replied the man.

"That's because we got **actual** contact with the neuroi. I just spoke to it. It wants to settle things with us, and don't wants to do us any harm. It is persuading the hive leaders of the Ural hive for a truce as we speak! We need to do the same, so we can work out a peace contract!" Replied the engineer.

"But who says that this isn't a trick? They could have fooled you, and are just waiting till we stopped defending. Then, they would attack us with full force." Asked the General, as he was stopped by an younger lieutenant.

"Sir! This just came in! The 502nd was just fighting against a neuroi, when it stopped fighting back. It just deflected the attacks, and turned back the way it came from! They are now requesting orders, as they don't know if they should pursue it, or leave it!" Explained the lieutenant.

"See?! I told you she would get the leaders of the hive to make a truce! If you tell them to kill that neuroi, they will think we have betrayed them, and I'm damn sure that this is our last chance to make peace with them!" Said Romstein, who had listened over the radio.

'If what he says really is true...' thought the General.

"Tell them to return to base. And give the order to all bases to be on standby. Lets see if what this Karlslander says is true." Said Woroschilow, to which the lieutenant just nodded.

"Thanks sir. I have a good feeling that were on the right track with this." Said Lukas, his smirk audible over the phone.

"I hope your right, Captain Romstein." Said the General, and ended the call.

"Well, you heard him. Were on standby right now, till girl gets here." Said the engineer, as he put the receiver down.

"Who is 'girl'?" Asked Minna.

"Its the name I gave the neuroi, till we can figure out a better name. Anyway, I tolled Shirley, Lucchini and Tobias to gather the others in the main hall, so we could tell them the news." Explained Lukas, as he put on his hat again.

"Good thinking. Lets go." Said Mio, and walked out.

The others were gathered in the main hall, all waiting for Lukas and/or the commander and major to come in. Soon enough, they all three came in, with Lukas stepping directly in front of them.

"Ladies, I've brought in good news. The mission was a complete success! I've talked to the neuroi, and we agreed to get together, and to talk about a peace contract. Till then, both sides are in a truce. Were all on standby till then." Grinned Lukas, waiting for the news to sink in.

"D-does that mean, that the war could be over?" Asked Lynette.

"If everything works out well, it does. We will expect the neuroi to land here any minute, so please, don't try to be hostile." Answered Lukas, and turned to the door.

He walked out, looking towards the sky, just to see the familiar form of the neuroi girl, landing just a few feet in front of him.

"I see that you kept your part of our little 'conversation'." Chuckled the engineer.

" _Yes, I did, and so did you. I knew I could rely on this group._ "

"Anyways, lets go inside. I bet the others would like to meet a friendly neuroi." Said the boy kindly, and motioned the neuroi to walk inside.

When they got inside, 12 pairs of eyes were directed at them, making the neuroi feel a little nervous.

"My friends, this is girl. She will go to the Allied supreme commanding post, so that the peace can be restored on this planet." Explained Lukas, as the neuroi stepped forward.

" _Hello. I'm neuroi girl, or girl for short. Its nice to finally be able to talk to you._ " Said the neuroi. But the moment she finished talking, she was bombarded with questions about the neuroi, how they lived, and what they did when they didn't fight. Lukas just laughed; He thought that the neuroi girl wouldn't have any trouble to get onto good terms with the witches...

" **Finally finished. The more I write, the more I think I should stop and get back to reality for a minute or two"  
"I wouldn't. We had one look at the outside, and we decided to stay inside." Said Lucchini, who jumped up behind him.**

" **HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET IN HERE?!"**

" **Through the door." Said the girl.**

" **Okay, tomorrow, I'll repair the lock on that thing. Anyway, you can't possibly stay inside here all day! I don't even have enough rooms to get you all covered, much less, enough food OR money to feed you through!"  
"That won't be a problem. We've got these!" She said, handing him a bar of pure gold.**

" **WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET THIS?!"  
"Minna said I should give you this. She said the Karlslander got more then enough of this." Replied the young Romangnan.  
"Thought so. Anyway, seems like I need to go to the store tomorrow. Better take a trailer with me, just in case I can't carry all the stuff with my motorbike... Who am I kidding, I will need a trailer. Thanks for reading and see you next time!**

" **To who are you talking?" Asked Lucchini.**

" **That's none of your concern. Now get out before I think about buy candy!"**


	10. Christmas Chapter

" **Merry Christmas, or whatever your celebrating!"**

" **CHRISTMAS?! Where are the presents?!"  
"Lucchini, HOW DO YOU KEEP GETTING IN MY ROOM?!"  
"The door."  
"I thought I repaired the lock?"  
"Yeah, but you forgot that I have a key for that thing!"  
"From who?!"  
"Shirley."  
"Okay, I'll repay her for that. Anyways, ON WITH THE STORY!"**

With the truce in place, the witches started to relax, not needing to worry for another neuroi attack. It was only a few days before Christmas, and Lukas, Tobias, Lucchini, Lynette, Yoshika, and even Alex were decorating the house and the sheds.  
"What are you doing?" Asked Hartmann, who came in with Shirley and Barkhorn.  
"Decorating. It is nearing Christmas, and this place really should get some of that Christmas spirit!" Smiled Lukas, as he placed a Mistletoe at the door frame.

"And why is that? If haven't forgotten, were still at war!" Grumbled Barkhorn.

"And if you haven't forgotten, were on standby, as is the whole front line, on both sides, 'cause were in a truce. And also, your sister is still with us, and I think she would like to see some festive spirit around here!" Smirked Lukas, as he walked over to where Yoshika and Lynette were decorating a pine tree.

"And also, I bet Santa Claus wouldn't fancy to visit a house without decorations." Finished the boy, as he grabbed some Christmas socks, and placed them at the furnace.

"Wait, you still believe in Santa?" Asked Trude, not believing what she had heard.

"Of course. My mother always told me 'If witches have the magic to fly, Santa has the magic to fly as well'." Said the engineer.

"You can't be serious! There is no such thing as a man, who travels around the world, and gives out presents." Exclaimed Barkhorn, just as Chris, Mio, Minna and Hanna stepped in. They had just helped the younger Barkhorn in flying a Striker.

"What? Santa isn't real?" Asked the younger girl.

"N-no! Of course he is real! Why wouldn't he?" Chuckled Trude nervously.

"Because you just said!" Stated the younger girl, and turned to the others.

"Is it true?"

The others didn't knew how to react, just staring at the ground, or avoiding to have eye contact with the younger Karlsland girl. That was, till Lukas kneed down to her.

"Of course Santa is real. Hes as real as Christmas is real too! Come, how about you help Yoshika and Lynne with the tree decorations?" Said the engineer kindly, as he brought the younger girl to where the two girls were standing.

After getting back, he turned to Barkhorn.

"That was too close for comfort Barky. She should keep believing, for as long as possible, 'cause on day, she will think back and say 'It was worth it'." Said the engineer, as he started to walk away.

The decorating of the house took time, but was worth every minute. Lukas even decorated the three engines! They were having red ribbons, running across the running board, and their lamps were shining star shaped light beams out, thanks to some stencil Lukas made. While Lukas worked outside, Tobias and Alex were inside, working on something around the tree. Yoshika came up to them, with some refreshments, when she saw the two working around the tree.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"We are placing a model railway around the tree. When we were in our sheds, we always had a tree, and Lukas and Martin always placed a little round track around the tree. Sometimes, there would be a present or two on board the train. We thought, since it is the first Christmas in years that we celebrate together, that it would be nice to continue the tradition." Said Alex, as he placed a little steam engine on the track. A second later, it was slowly rolling around the tree, as the two men smiled, thinking back to better times.

Meanwhile, Mio and Minna were discussing about the life after the war, when Mio noticed something.

"Is it just me, or does it gets rather cold in her?" She asked, as she started to shiver a bit.  
"Your right. It IS getting colder here. We should probably check on the heating system." Said Minna, and stood up. They got into the cellar, where a old, large furnace was. It was still burning, but on a very small scale. They looked for the coal, only to see that there was nearly nothing left.

"This is bad. The weather report called in earlier, and they say that we're expecting a lengthy snow fall, at the least, 3 days long! We wont survive out here without more coal!" Said Minna, concerned.

"What should we do then?"

"You go and gather the others. I will call down to new Republiska, and ask if they got any coal left for us."

The others gathered in the main hall, as Minna and Mio came in.

"We've got a big problem. Were running out of coal, and without any fuel for the furnace, we can't survive out here. I called new Republiska, and asked them if they got any spare coal, but they're running out of coal themselves! We need to think of something, and fast!" Explained Minna.

"How about we use the coal from the engines?" Suggested Hanna.

"We don't have that much coal left, maybe half a tender each. We would only survive a few days, maybe half a week if we'd use that, and it wouldn't help the people down in new Republiska." Replied Lukas.  
"But I've got an better plan. I know of a coal mine, that is near Vorkuta. I have some friends there, who could arrange a coal train. If I leave right now, I could bring the coal in before the snow hits us." Explained the engineer.

"But Vorkuta is over 200 km from here." Said Sanya.  
"I know, but if I fly up, I need only 40 minutes. I would fly down here too, but I can't. The trucks would break off the coupling before I would even get off the ground! But I need to try! The people in new Republiska need the coal, and I won't stay put if I can help. Alex, Tobi, while I'm out, go and cut some trees. They should help for a while, till I get back." Said Lukas, and walked quickly out of the room.

After calling his friends in the coal mines of Vorkuta, Romstein climbed into his engine, and started off. The girls stayed, looking after their friend, who disappeared into the clouds. Alex and Tobias grabbed some axes, and walked off, to the nearby woods, to cut some trees. After a little while, they came back.

"We could need a little help out there. We need someone who can help us bring the wood in, since we need all the time to cut the wood down!" Said Alex.

"Well, I don't want to stay here and freeze my butt of so, I'm coming with you." Smirked Shirley.  
"I'll go too!" Said Francesca.

"Count me in." Said Trude.

"Eh? I always thought work like this isn't suited for a Karlsland soldier?" Smirked Shirley.

"A true soldier always goes if somebody needs help. Even someone like you should know that, Liberion."  
"HEY! What's that supposed to mean?!"  
"OY! Cut your chat and get your cabooses moving! We haven't got much daytime left, and you don't want to be outside if a weather such as this!" Remarked Alex, and walked after Tobias, who was already heading for the woods. The three girls quickly went after them.

"WOAH! Look at those big trees!" the young Romagnan girl exclaimed, as she stood next to a tree that was cut down to the ground. It was almost the size of her!  
"Did you two really cut that one down, all by yourself?!" Asked Shirley, slightly shocked at the size of the tree.

"'course we did! Easy if you know the tricks!" Boasted Alex proudly.

"We've cut down trees back home in Karlsland, when we visited our families. They mostly lived on the land, and they needed wood for the stoves or furnaces, so it was natural that we did such a thing. They laughed about it, and tolled us we should become Lumberjacks, instead of railway workers!" Chuckled Tobias, as he grabbed his axe, and began to cut up the tree with Alex. The three girls just stood of side, watching the two, as they chopped the tree trunk to smaller, more handier pieces. Alex stopped, with an annoyed look on his face, and shouted back to the girls.

"Do you three just want to burn holes in the sky, or do you finally get to work?! This wood needs to be back in the house as soon as possible, and I don't think it will move by itself!"

The girls jumped into motion, and quickly started to collect the pieces. When they couldn't pick up more, they started to go back again. They repeated this for a while, till the girls were out of breath. But there still were plenty of wood pieces around.

"I cant do this anymore!" Grumbled Lucchini, and pulled a face.  
"There must be a better way to transport those logs then to pick them up with our hands!" Panted Trude.

"Do we have any wagons around here or something?" Asked Shirley.

"Not that I know off. But maybe Lukas got something we can use?" Suggested Barkhorn, as she pointed inside the sheds.

They searched around the sheds, but couldn't find anything useful. That was, till Lucchini bumped against a shelf, which promptly tumbled over.

"Lucchini!" shouted Shirley.  
"How did this happen?!" Asked Barkhorn.

"IdontknowhowithappenedIwasjustlookingaroundandthenIbumpedintoitanditjustfellover!"  
While Barkhorn just sighted and tried to understand what the young girl in front of her just said, Shirley looked at the shelf, and saw a hole, large enough to walk through without watching for your head. She looked inside, and shouted back to the two others.

"Guys! Look what I've found!"

The other two came up to her, and looked inside as well.  
"I think we can work with that." Said Barkhorn, a little surprised with their find.  
"Yes, but we need to be quick, or Alex will rip us apart!" Said Shirley, and the three got to work...

Alex and Tobias were finishing in cutting up the tree, and sat down on a pile of logs. They looked around, and saw that the girls still needed to get to the house.

"Where are those three?! I thought they wanted to help us!" Huffed Alex, his breath visible in the cold air.

"I just hope we can get all this wood inside before night time. It should be enough for tonight and tomorrow, but I don't think we can get any more tomorrow..." Sighted Tobias, as he looked into the sky, and saw big black clouds, coming in from the horizon.

Just then, they could hear a sound from the trees, as Barkhorn and Lucchini broke through it, with what looked like, a small pieces of tracks, tug underneath their arms.

"Sorry it took so long, but we needed to do something." Said Lucchini cheekily, as she and Barkhorn placed the rails on the ground. Barkhorn whistled, and from the trees came a horn. A soft growling was heard, and from behind the branches, rolled a small diesel locomotive, with several small trucks behind it. Driving the little diesel was Shirley.

"How did you get that thing moving?! When we bought it, it was a wreck!" Exclaimed Alex.

"Oh, I have my ways with motors. But why did you hide it?" Asked Shirley.

"Its Lukas' Christmas present. He always wanted to build a rail line through his garden, but that was canceled, because of the neuroi. When we were in Gallia, we found it, together with the trucks and rails, rusting away in the harbor. We bought it cheap, but that as only because it wasn't working. We tried to repair it since October, but it simply wouldn't work. But it was good thinking, to use it for transporting these logs! But enough talk, lets get working! Night will be here soon, and I don't want to find out what lives in this forest." Said Tobias, as he started to load the trucks.

As soon as the trucks were loaded, Shirley drove the train back to the shed, were the tracks ended. They brought the logs into the cellar, and stored them in the fuel box.

-Meanwhile-

Lukas was back on the rails, as he was only a mile away from the coal mine. He started to break, as the entrance of the mines were in sight, and smiled as he saw a familiar sight of an Orussian soldier, waiting next to a long string of coal trucks. Lukas jumped from the trucks, and walked over to the soldier.

"Hello Reznov! Its good to see you again!"  
"Straswudje Romstein! I see that you are still fighting for the rails." Laughed Reznov.

"Not only." Smirked the boy, as he showed the soldier his revolver and rifle, to which he only laughed.

"I knew you would come to sense. Your train is ready, but the track is still occupied with another coal train. It will be here in half an hour, but that shouldn't be too much of an problem." Said Reznov, pointing first at the line of coal trucks, and then down the line.

"Not at all. Is Dimitri here? He still owes me a vodka bottle!" Laughed Lukas.

"Da, he is in the main office, playing poker with some of the others. How about we join them?" Suggested Reznov, and pointed to an small hut, which had the words 'Main Office' written on it.

"Lead the way, lets see if I can get more then one bottle of vodka from the 'Hero of Volgograd'!" Laughed Lukas, and followed Reznov inside the building.

 **3 hours later**

Inside the small hut, were 5 men, playing poker, and laughing their heads off, as they were clearly drunk. Lukas had won most of the pots, but all the while, he forgot both the time, and the overview over how many vodka bottles they already emptied. Just after he won the final pot, he fell from his chair, and promptly slept in.

"Didn't he have a train that he needed to bring to New Republiska?" Asked Dimitri.

"Da, but I don't think he can drive. We'll send him on his way tomorrow." Said Reznov, as he got out a blanket, and put it over the passed out engineer, as he and Dimitri, as well as the other two, walked out, and left for their temporary homes.

 **the Next Morning, 24th of December, Christmas Eve**

Lukas woke up with an start, that was quickly followed by an head-splitting hangover, as the morning whistle signaled that the night shift was over. Lukas looked around the hut, till his eyes stopped at the clock, that hung on the wall: 7am.

"FUCK IM LATE!" He shouted, but abruptly, as he held his head again, the pain visible in his face.

"Good, your awake." Came Reznov voice, as the older Orussian sat at a table.  
"There are some pain pills over on the counter, with a glass of water. I scheduled your train to leave at 7:30, so you better get going." Said the man bluntly, as Lukas grabbed the pills, and downed them in one go.  
"Thanks Reznov. See you around." Said Lukas quickly, and raced outside.

After half an hour, Romsteins train was ready to depart, and with an loud whistle, the long coal train left for New Republiska. But things were difficult from the start: The mines were in a valley, and the tracks to the mainline in a steep gradient. He needed almost 2 hours, before he hit the mainline. After that, problems kept happening: every ten minutes, he had to stop for an hotbox, and he needed to let other trains pass before him; they were mainly military goods trains that needed to arrive before the snowfall hit. He was halfway home, when the snow started to fall. At first, it were only small flakes, but soon, the snow came down heavily, and he had nearly no visibility at all. He let his whistle blast every few seconds, to warn anything that was near the tracks to get away. But all that couldn't stop him from passing the red signal, that stood directly next to the line, warning him from another train that was in front of him...

-Meanwhile, back at the base-

The snow already hit them, and the girls, as well as Alex and Tobias, were inside the main hall. Alex and Tobias had been up all morning, cutting down more trees, so that they could have some more fuel to survive just that little longer. They had stopped using the central heating, and were now using the old fireplace that was in the main hall. The girls were shivering, and tried to keep themselves warm. The wood was slowly running out, and Alex and Tobias already took some of the books and furniture as fuel, but in the end, it wasn't helping much.

"Do you think Lukas will return in time?" Asked Lucchini Shirley, as she cuddled herself into Shirleys bosom.  
"I think so." Was all Shirley could reply, as she looked out of the window, as the snow fell even harder.  
"How long do you think the Wood will last Alex?" Asked Minna, concerned.

"If we can use some more books and furniture, then we might survive another day or two. But I'm not sure..." Was all the Karlslander could say, as he got back to rip out sides out of a book. He finished the book, and grabbed another, when he stopped, and looked at the cover: _Shirleys Diary_

He stood up, and walked to Tobias, who was breaking up another table.

"Hey Tobi, do you know how this one got into the pile?"

"Hm? Oh, I found it behind a bed in a room. I didn't read the cover, so I thought it was just a normal book. Better give it back to her. I don't want to know what happens if she notice it isn't there anymore." Said Tobias, as he continued with his work.

Alex looked around, but couldn't find Shirley anywhere, but he did find Francesca, sitting in front of the fire, warming her hands.  
"Hey, small one!" Said Alex, as he walked up to Lucchini.  
"I'M NOT SMALL!" Shouted the young girl back.

"Yeah, whatever. Your always with Yeager, aren't you? Could you give it back to her, when you see her? Thanks." Said Alex, and pressed the book into the girls hands, and walked back to his work.

Lucchini looked at the book, and smirked mischievously. She looked around, and after making sure no one was looking, looked into the book.

 _Monday, December the 10_ _th_ _1945:_

 _We took down the Bolsheviks, and how we did that! Who knew we could take down more then 30 grown men, without even our weapons! I don't know why, but Lukas' fighting spirit must have jumped over to us... I just don't know what these feelings are. Whenever I'm near him, I feel my heart speeding up, like it did when I broke the sound barrier. Why do I feel like that? Could it be, that I'm in love with him?_

"Lucchini?" Came a voice behind the Romagnan girl, who in turn closed the book and turned around.  
"Is that my diary?! Where did you find it, and why do you have it in the first place?!" Asked the Liberion, with red cheeks.

"Alex gave it to me, he said I should give it back to you." Said the little girl.

"I'll give that Idiot a piece of my mind when I see him next time... You didn't read in it, did you?" Asked Shirley, her cheeks getting even more red.

"Is it true that your in love with him?" Asked Lucchini, trying to get her off the situation at hand.

"I... HEY! Don't think you can fool me like that! You read in my diary! So I won't let you sleep in hangar for a week." Said Shirley, a stern look on her face.

Awww." Pouted Francesca.

"So, and now off with you. Yoshika and Lynette need help in the kitchen." Said the Liberion, and pointed to the door that lead to the kitchen.

Lucchini sighted, and walked off. Shirley looked at the book, and sighted too.

'I don't know Lucchini. I really don't know...' Thought Shirley, as she looked at her diary, and walked off.

The day was ending, and Lukas still hasn't returned. Minna already telephoned down to the city, but they haven't heard from him. They only heard that a train had run into another goods train, somewhere near Inta, but that was the last they heard of any train running on the line, since the telephone poles were knocked down by the snow. Alex and Tobias were still ripping up books and scraping furniture, but they were slowly running out of them too. Minna walked up to the two men.

"How long do you think we can hold out?" Asked Minna.

"I don't know. If we keep the fire up, we might see the light of day, but only just. Tell the girls to get their warmest clothes on. It's going to be a cold night..." Said Alex, as he threw in another few book pages. Even though it was the 24th of December, nobody was in the mood for Christmas. Yoshika and Lynette tried to brighten up the mood with some Christmas food, but nothing helped.

As it neared midnight, everyone, both at the base and in the town, were slowly going to sleep. Alex and Tobias promised to keep a lookout for the fire, but after 2 in the morning, they too drifted off to sleep, as the fire burned down.  
At the station of new Republiska, Bud and Terence were keeping the fire up for the residents that had fled into the safety of the train station. Bud was playing with a set of cards, while Terence kept the fire going. That was, until a faint wheezing could be heard from the platform. They both got out, just to see something slid into the station. It looked like a train, and sure enough, it was one. Someone jumped from the cab, and walked out of sight, into the snow, along the train. Bud and Terence walked over, wanting to find out who stopped at the station. The soon reached the wagons, and saw the Orussian words on it. They could only read 'coal' and 'company', but that was enough to know that this train was a coal train. They could hear the sound of a coupling, and saw how a man walked up to them. He stopped in front of them: His face wasn't visible, because of scarf around his mouth and nose, and the glasses, that were over his eyes. He hit the side of the truck they stood next to with his fist, and held it up, as something landed in it. He gave it to Terence, who looked at it; coal. The man nodded his head, gave a salute with two of his fingers, and walked of to his engine. He climbed aboard, and ran the engine to the other side of the train, and after coupling the engine up, he started the train back out of the station.

"Who was that?" Asked Bud.

"I don't know, but I think it was Lukas." Smiled Terence, as a whistle echoed through the night, as the train clanged out of the station, and onto the line to the 501st base.

The train slowly steamed onto the grounds of the 501st base of operation. The man from earlier jumped from the engine, and grabbed a few buckets, which he hung at the grip of his shovel. He filled coal in each of the buckets, and after that, walked through the snow to the mansion. He walked inside, and looked around. It was dark and cold, but he could see some light, coming from the main hall. He walked further to it, and saw how the whole 501st JFW had cuddled up on the couch, while the two Karlslander engineers snored quietly, with their heads against each other. A smile crept up, under the scarf, as he stepped up to the fire, seeing that it was nearly out. He grabbed a few coal pieces, and some oil from nearby, and put it onto the small fire. The fire grew again, and its warmth spread through the room. The girls smiled slightly in their sleep, as the warmth hit them. The man took off the glasses, and took of the scarf. He put some more pieces of coal into the fire, and smiled as he looked around the room.

"Merry Christmas lads." Lukas Romstein said, as he slumped back into a chair, and watched over the fire.

 **Later, the morning of the 25th of December, Christmas Day**

The girls all woke up with a start, as they heard the cheerful voices of Alex and Tobias, who were laughing happily.

They got up, and the first thing they noticed, was the big fire, that burned in the furnace, and the buckets of coal, that were right beside it. The next thing they saw, was the sleeping engineer, who was sitting in the chair next to the fireplace, out like a light, and snoring softly.  
"He did it! He got the coal!" Cheered Alex, and pointed outside, where a string of 4 coal trucks stood, behind a snow covered 'Liberion' 4-4-0 tender engine.

"But how? The lines must have been buried under the snow by the time he was halfway home! And what about the collision? I thought he got into that?" Asked Minna.

"Easy-" Came the tired reply of Lukas, who had woken up by now.

"My engine might be small, but it still can stand its ground against such soft stuff. And with that collision, hehehe, it was my train that was hit. I got into a station, where another goods train departed. I was diverted onto a spur line, while the other train crashed into the last three trucks. Luckily, those were old wooden bodied trucks. The other engine merely had a scratch, the trucks are beyond repair. Oh, and also, Merry Christmas guys." Smiled the engineer, as he stood up, and grabbed a piece of wood, which he set on fire through the coal fire in the furnace he then walked up to the tree, and lighted the candles around it.

"It might not be the best Christmas, but I still think it is a Christmas to remember." Chuckled the engineer, as he walked to the door frame, and took in the sight that the tree offered.

"I think so too." Smiled Shirley, as she joined the engineer under the door frame.  
One after one, they all got next to the two, and smiled, as they watched the tree. Suddenly, Alex remembered something, and got to the tree again. He took out a little bottle of spirit, and filled the boiler of the little engine, and lit a fire in the firebox. He placed the engine back on the tracks, and grinned, as the engine slowly started to move. Lukas' eyes went wide, as he saw the little engine, pulling a few coaches, chuffing around the tree. He sniffed lightly, and smiled at the two other men, who just grinned back at him.

"Merry Christmas, young one." Chuckled Alex.  
"Merry Christmas, old geezer." Smiled Lukas, as he watched the train round the tree once more.

Francesca looked up, and smirked slightly. She poked Shirley and Lukas, and pointed up. Right above Lukas and Shirley, was the mistletoe that Lukas had placed a few days ago. They both looked at each other, their cheeks glowing slightly red.

"Y-you know we don't need to do that." Said Lukas nervously.

"I think your right. We don't need to do that. I mean, its only a mith, with the bad luck and all that..." Chuckled Shirley nervously, while Francesca just grumbled.

"H-Hey! I just noticed: where is all our stuff gone?" Asked Lukas, as he looked around the room, and noticed the lack of inventory.

"Oh, yeah, we burned them..." Chuckled Minna.  
"That won't do. Tell you what: Were now going down to town, and get ourselves something to eat, and when the stores are open, were going to buy some new furniture, all on me!" Said the boy.

"Are you sure? I mean, that will cost you a lot." Said Mio.  
"And? I've got enough money. And its the least I can do. But enough of that, lets get going!" Said the engineer, and turned around, only to crash again Shirley, falling onto the ground with her, and kissing her in the process. They were startled for a few seconds, till Lukas jumped up, red as a tomato.

"SORRY!" Was all he said, as he raced outside, and jumped into his engine.  
Shirley got up, her face red as well.

"What was that about?" Asked Mio.  
"Oh, I think that's something that those two should make up under each other." Whispered Minna.

"Alright then, we better get going, or Lukas will leave without us." Smiled Minna, as she and the others went outside, just to be greeted by the sun, which fought its way out of the clouds.  
"I thought the weather report said it would snow for at least 3 days?" Pondered Barkhorn.  
"Well, you know how reliable those guys are." laughed Alex, and they all joined in, as they climbed aboard the 'George Washington'.  
Lukas stood in his cab, still red in his face, but smiled slightly, and pulled the throttle open, starting his 'Christmas special' down to the town.

When they arrived however, they were greeted by a crowd of people, who had gathered at the main station, at the front of the crowd, stood Bud, Terence, Anastasia, and the mayor of new Republiska.

"The people of new Republiska have gathered here, to thank the brave engineer, who had battled the snow, to bring us the fuel for our fire, so that we wouldn't freeze. We want to thank you, Lukas Romstein, as well as the whole 501st Joint Fighter Wing, for what you all did for us, and for the city." Said the mayor, to which the crowd cheered.

"So please, accept our invitation to our, although late, Christmas dinner." Said Anastasia.

"Well, of course we accept. Please, lead the way." Said Minna, who had stepped up to the crowd.

They were soon at the town square, where a big Christmas tree stood, and in front of it, a large table, with many chairs around it. They all took a seat, and soon, they all ate, laughed at celebrated. Lukas stood up, and asked for attention.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of new Republiska. I speak for all of us from the 501st, when I say, that were are happy to be with such friendly people, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy new Year!" Said the engineer, to which they all agreed.

"Merry Christmas Lukas." Said Shirley, who sat next to him.  
"Merry Christmas Shirley." smiled Lukas, and gave her another kiss.

"Why did you do that? There is no mistletoe here." Asked Shirley.

"I know. I just let my heart speak for me." Smiled Lukas, to which Shirley beamed, and kissed him back.

Lukas was slightly shocked, but then beamed back.

"Best, Christmas, EVER!" He cheered, and kissed Shirley once more.

" **There is nothing more to say from my side. I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a Happy new Year."**

" **Wait, your in love with me?!"  
"I never said I was, and also, WHY DO YOU ALWAYS GET IN HERE WITHOUT KNOCKING! Ugh, I really need to get myself a new lock..."**


	11. Chapter 10

" **So, here we are. This is where I usually work."  
"Huh? You work in an rotten old shed?" Asked Trude.  
"ITS NOT THAT ROTTEN! Its just that DB is an arse, and doesn't care about its historical buildings!"  
"Soooo, why did you pull us out here?! Its stupid cold you know!" Grumbled Francesca.**

" **First: You can be happy that this year is the warmest winter since the beginning of weather recording, or it would be REALLY cold, second: I wanted to get you out of my house for once, so that you can see how much the world has developed since 1945."  
"By the looks of it, you haven't come that far." Smirked Shirley.**

" **Only because we don't have enough money to restore the place! Anyway, seeing that you all got out of my Bus now-" Jumps inside the VW Bus, and starts off.**

" **HAVE FUN, AND TRY NOT TO BLOW THE WHOLE PLACE UP! TILL IN A FEW HOURS!"**

 **'I finally have time to write again'**

After Christmas (and nearly spending all of Lukas' savings on new furniture) the girls of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing could settle down again. While Lukas nearly collapsed after seeing his Christmas present, he spend nearly all the time he had on finishing the repairs on it. While he did that however, he didn't notice a pair of girls sneaking inside the sheds, till they started the motor of the engine, and nearly giving Lukas an heart attack. Lukas got out of the engines interior workings, and looked at the two girls, who were now laughing about the whole think.

"Very funny you two. What do you want?" Grumbled the engineer, as Hanna and Shirley calmed down.

"What? Can't a cousin see her cousin without a good reason?" Asked Hanna.  
"If its you, then no. So, what do you want?" Asked the engineer.

"Okay, Minna said we need more supplies, and that we should go down and get them." Said Marseille.  
"And what do you two come to me for that? I'm a engineer, not a grocery store owner."  
"But your the only one with an vehicle that can climb the hills with an heavy load attached to it, and Minna said we should take you along with us." Retorted Hanna.

"Great. Its not like I have nothing to do around here... Get inside the cab, I'll be with you in a sec." Grumbled the engineer, as he pointed to where his engine stood.

10 Minutes later, they were on their way towards the town. Behind the engine was a small wooden box car, with the symbol of the 501st on its side. Lukas leaned back into his seat again, after closing the throttle again.

"Reminds me again, why didn't we buy any supplies when we bought the furniture?"

"How should I know? Probably forgotten when we finished spending all your money." Smirked Hanna, as the engineer cringed.

"Be happy that I forgot the bill, or you would repay what you spend. Next time I say stuff like that, I better think that through..." Grumbled the engineer, as the first few tracks of the yards appeared next to the three running lines. Lukas stopped the train, and they jumped out of the cab. He waved to one of the workmen in the yards, and shouted something in Orussian to him.

"What did you say?" Asked Shirley.

"That they should keep their hands off of the train, or they would spend the next few months clearing the tracks from weeds." Grinned Lukas, as they talked to the station.

Once they were outside the station, they were greeted by a fighting scene, as a large group of men fought on the station square. In the middle of the brawl, were two familiar Venician men, who waved at Lukas when they saw him.

"Buon giorno Lukas! Could you give us a hand here?!" Laughed Bud, as he gave on of the Orussian men a 'Steam hammer'

"I'll give you two!" Laughed the engineer, and turned to Shirley and Hanna.  
"If you would hold these?" He smirked, and gave them his guns.

"GERONIMO!" Shouted Lukas, and jumped into the brawl.

He was quickly surrounded, but he only smirked, and waited for the first of them to loose their patience. He wouldn't need to wait long, as the first two men charged at him. His grin grew, and he quickly grabbed both of them by the collar, and let them crash into each other. He then threw then into the others, while three of the others began to attack him. Two grabbed him by the arms, while another one punched him in the face. He was stunned for a second, but then kicked the one in front of him in the stomach, and the man grabbing his left arm in front of his knee. While the one in front of him spit out some blood, the one on the left caved in. Lukas kicked the one to his left with full force into the face, and pulled the one on the right to his face, and gave him a head bump. While this was going on, Bud and Terence were fighting the rest of the group (around 15 men) with ease, laughing, and making jokes, while the men fell around them. After a little while, the police turned up, and the ones that could still walk started to run away, while trying to carry some of the already knocked out ones. Lukas, Bud and Terence just meet up in the middle of the square, and grinned at each other.

"I see you are right at home here." Chuckled the engineer.

"Well, one needs to keep up with their fitness program." Smirked Bud.

"I think they are Bolsheviks, the symbol on their sides does looks like the one that they used." Said Terence, pointing to a sickle and hammer symbol on their collar.

"Well, as long as we are here, they better behave, or they will see what they'll have from that." Laughed Lukas, as the police officers came up to them.  
"Did you take down those men?" Asked one of them.

"Yeah, pretty much. Though most of the work was done by these two." Said Lukas, and patted the two Venician men on the shoulders.

"Then you three are hereby taken under arrest." Said the officer, as two further put handcuffs on Bud and Terence.

"What?! Why?! We helped to stop these men!" Said Lukas.  
"Not from what these men said." Said the police officer, and pointed to two men, who had blood, running down their mouths.  
"They said that they were attacked by 3 men, a thin blond, a chubby man with beard, and a engineer with glasses and a Striker instead of his legs. Gentlemen, are these three the men that attacked you?" Asked the police officer.

"Yes! Those are the three!" Said one of the two, while the other just nodded in agreement.

"We and our friends were drinking coffee in the station cafe, when these two came in, and started to attack us. After we came out, the engineer came in and fought alongside them!" Explained the man.

"This will be enough. Lukas Romstein, Bud Pedersoli, Terence Girotti, you three are hereby under arrest. Commissar Coliwanov! Bring them to the police station and lock them up." Said the officer, as another officer stepped up, and took them away. Hanna and Shirley stepped up to Lukas, who stopped walking, and looked at them with a defeated smile.

"Looks like you need to do the shopping on your own." Chuckled the engineer.

"We'll tell Minna as soon as were back at the base! You are innocent!" Said Shirley.  
"Do that, but I wouldn't worry that much about it. A day or two, and we'll be out of the bunker again." Chuckled the engineer, and winked to the two girls.

"AND TAKE CARE OF MY ENGINE!" Shouted Lukas, as they walked off again.

 **501** **st** **JFW base, 1 hour later**

"WHAT?! Why did they put him into Jail?!" Asked Mio, furious.  
"He helped Bud and Terence fight against some Bolsheviks at the train station, but some of them got away, and put the blame of the fight on the three." Explained Hanna. They had just arrived back at the base, with the supplies for the next few weeks.

"We must get him out of there! When the top brass gets wind of him being in prison... better not think about it." Said Minna, shaking at the thought of the top brass, hearing that one of the 501st went to jail, because of a bar fight.

"Lukas said that they would be out in a few days, but I don't trust this. Terence was right about something: Those men were Bolsheviks, and I don't think they came to fight, just for the fun of it." Said Shirley.  
"What do you mean by that?" Asked Alex, getting the feeling that Shirley might be onto something.

"I think, that the Bolsheviks want to get back on us for getting their boss into prison. I think it would be better if some of us stay in the city, at least for a few days." Said Shirley.

"I think so too. Shirley! You, Yoshika, Francesca and Lynette will go into the city and guard it, but try to lay low. Don't draw any unnecessary attention, we can't afford to let the enemy know what we know." Said Mio.

"Roger!" Said Shirley, and went to gather the others.

 **2 Days later**

Over the time that they were stationed in the city, the girls stayed with Anastasia, Ivanow and his son. They were glad they could help, but understood the situation, and kept their mouths shut. Shirley and Francesca were making a small patrol through the northern part of the city, when they saw a group of men walking through the streets.  
"Whats wrong Shirley? They're just walking along!" Chuckled Lucchini.

"I'm not so sure about that. They look suspicious." Murmured Shirley, as she eyed the men. Then, one of them seemed to trip, but caught himself again. But in that moment, something flashed from underneath his coat. Shirley could clearly see the PPSh 41, as he quickly pulled his coat over it again.

"Lucchini, go and get Yoshika and Lynette. I'll go to the police station." Said Shirley, and quickly walked off.

Shirley soon reached the police station, where the officers were lazily sat behind their desks, grabbing their vodka bottles every once in a while. They perked up when they saw Shirley crashing into the station.

"What is it?" One of them asked, gruffly.

"There are men with machine guns, walking around the city!" Said Shirley. The men just laughed.

"Da! They are called soldiers!" Laughed one of them.

"But they aren't soldiers! They don't wear uniforms, and are hiding their weapons!" Said Shirley angrily.

"Listen, young lady. After the Bolsheviks attacked, the entrances to the city are being controlled daily by soldiers, checking upon every person to make sure nobody comes armed into this city." Said the man sternly.

"I would listen if I were you! If there is one thing you can rely on, it Shirley when she tells you something!" Came Lukas' voice from the part of the station where the cells were.

"Quiet you! Now, if that was all you came for, you can go now." Said the officer, as he pointed to the door. Shirley just stormed off, furious about the officers.

Shirley went back to the house where Anastasia, Ivanow and his son lived. When she got there, she explained what happened at the police station.

"Why wouldn't they listen to you?" Asked Yoshika.

"Its the same as it was with that Maloney fellow you told us about; they think that women don't know anything, and shouldn't fight. I think it would be better to secure this building, just to be save. I've got the feeling that things will go south really soon." Grumbled Ivanow, as he looked out of the window.

 **Meanwhile, at the market place**

"Its disgusting what happened to those three!" Grumbled a man.

"They only defended themselves, and get locked up for that! Those police officers have nerves!" Said a woman.

"I say we go there and get them out of the-! Hey, what are those guys doing there?" Said another man, as he pointed to a group of people, who stood in the middle of the market, with their arms under their coats.

They simply stood there, hats pulled into their faces, and their coats, covering whatever they have underneath it. Suddenly, there was a loud hissing noise, as a red flare raced against the sky. The group suddenly jumped into motion, and with one swift move, they had pulled out their machine guns, and started shooting at the people at the market, who screamed, and tried to escape the rampaging group...

 **Back at the House**

"Do you hear shots?!" Asked Shirley alarmed.

"I hoped that I just imagined that." Gulped Ivanow.

"Do we have any weapons here?" Asked the Liberion.

"I don't think so." Said Anastasia.

"Yes we have! I stored a shotgun and a pistol in my room, just in case." Said Ivanow, and went to get them.

"Yoshika, try to contact the base! Tell them whats going on down here, and ask for reinforcements! Lynne, stay with Anastasia and Ivanow. I'll go and try to get Lukas, Bud and Terence out of jail. They **have** to listen to me now!" Said Shirley, and raced outside.

Shirley tried to get to the police station, but the closer she got, the harder it got to go there, with both civilians and soldiers, blocking her path. She sneaked through alleys and backyards, till she was far enough inside the 'dead zone' for her to not be seen by the soldiers. She quickly and quietly made her way to the police station, and sneaked inside. But when she got to the cells, they were all empty. She looked around, trying to find a hint to where they went, till she found a letter.

 _Prisoner transport Nr. 35210_

 _The Prisoners, Lukas Romstein, Bud Pedersoli, and Terence Girotti, are to be send to the Orussian main prison in Volgograd, with the next train, leaving at 12am._

"Damn it! They must be on their way now!" She cursed, as she checked the watch, which said 12:10.

She grabbed Lukas' weapon belt and revolver, and started to go back to the house. She was making her way down an alleyway, when she was suddenly thrown to the ground.  
"Well well well, look what we've got here." Laughed somebody behind her. She turned around, just to see three men, wearing PPSH 41s, and looking with hungry eyes at here.

"A little girly, who lost her way perhaps? Well, we better take care of here, aye chaps?" Sneered the man, while his two companions laughed darkly.

"Take your dirty hands off me, you bastard!" Growled Shirley, as the man pulled her up.

"You better behave, if you don't want me to give you a third eye." Whispered the man darkly, and started to rip her cloths.

Shirley tried to push him away, but his two friends grabbed her, and hold her still. Suddenly, the man who ripped Shirley's cloths stopped, and fell backwards. His two friends turned around, confused, but were grabbed by someone, and pulled back, letting Shirley fall back onto the ground. She got up again, and heard the sound of punches behind her. Turning around, she smiled as she saw Bud and Terence, punching the lights out of the two, and Lukas, who stood on the one that had ripped her cloths.

"Just in the nick of time, wouldn't you say?" Smiled the engineer, as he kicked the man underneath him in between the legs, to which he stopped moving.

"What about the golden rule?" Asked Shirley.

"He broke golden rule number two: Never hurt girls. Especially the girl of my life." Chuckled Lukas, as he pulled Shirley towards him, and kissed her.

"Not to be the mood killer or anything, but we should better get a move on, 'cause I don't think these guys were alone." Said Bud, as he pointed to the knocked out men.

"You've got a point there. Shirley, if you would be so kind and would give me my gun and belt?" Said Lukas, and hold out his hand.

Shirley gave him the belt and colt, and after putting on the belt, he let his gun spin a few times on his hand, before putting it back in its place.

"Okay, lets go." He smiled.

"Was that really necessary?" Asked Shirley.

"Not at all. But I just wanted to get the feeling for my gun again." Smirked Lukas.

They returned back to the house, and were promptly taken down by Ivanow,his son, Yoshika and Lynette.

"Hey Ivanow, not to argue with your kind of handling this situation, but could you **please** put that shotgun out of my face!? Thank you." Grumbled Lukas, as Ivanow pulled the barrel out of his face.  
"Sorry boy. But its dangerous with those gunslingers out there." Grumbled the old Orussian back.

"Some of the soldiers were here earlier, and they told me that they've got them secured in downtown, but they want to hunger them out, instead of recapturing it." Said Anastasia.

"That won't do. Till they got them hungered out, they'll have destroyed half downtown! We need to do something, and fast!" Said Lukas.

"Aye, but what? We don't have enough guns to secure ourselves, much less so to take all of them out!" Said Ivanow.

"Who said we need weapons?" Smirked Romstein.

"What do you mean?" Asked Shirley.

"Oh, you'll see. Ivanow, Bud, Terence, could you come with me for a second?" Asked Lukas.

"This can only go well." Sighted Shirley, as Lukas, Ivanow, Bud and Terence disappeared into the next room.

 **The next morning**

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Asked Yoshika, nervously.

"Don't worry. If everything goes well, those tugs will be out of this city by tea time." Chuckled Lukas.

They walked slowly towards the main market place, where the tugs had made up their base. It was still early, and the sun had just risen over the sky. When they reached the market place, the engineer looked around, seeing that most of them were still asleep. He smirked, and drew his revolver.  
"Lukas?! What are you-!" Asked Lynne, alarmed, but she couldn't finish her sentence, as Lukas had already pulled the trigger, and shot into the air, waking the whole bunch up.

"WAKE UP YOU BASTARDS! COME ON!" He shouted.

The tugs woke up with a start, to and looked into the direction of the engineer, as he stood there.

"I've got an offer for you! Either you guys give up, and surrender, or we'll punch your guts out of you, and throw whatever is left of you out of the border of the city!" He said, to which the tugs just stared at him, and them laughed.

"If you haven't noticed, we are 40, and each have a gun!" Laughed one of them.

"And? We might only be 8, but we can take you down with ease! And that thing with your guns, I don't think they can help you much, if you can't fight with them!" Laughed Lukas.

The men looked at each other, confused and alarmed, and grabbed their guns, pulling the trigger. But as soon as they pulled them, they fell apart.

"How did you do that?!" Whispered Yoshika.

"Last night, the lads and I sneaked up here, and dismantled the guns. Now-" He turned back to the men, who now stood, confused and angered, on the market place.

"Do you surrender, or not?!"

In response, a fruit flew past him, and burst open when it hit a wall.

"I hoped it would turn out like this." He grinned, and nodded to his friends.

"GIVE 'EM HELL LADS!" Shouted Lukas, and raced forwards.

 **15 Minutes later**

A group of soldiers was dispatched to go to the market place, because of a lot of commotion was coming from there, and they should look if the tugs started to fight against each other. When they got there however, they were greeted by a surprising sight: The market was in pieces, and scattered around were the tugs most of them were knocked out, while the rest didn't want to stand up. In the middle of the market, were Lukas, Bud, Terence, Ivanow, Yoshika, Lynette and Francesca. While Lynne, Yoshika and Francesca were sitting on an, at least partly usable bench, while Lukas, Bud, Terence, Ivanow and Shirley were taking care of the last few tugs still standing. When they were finished with them, they threw them to the others, and turned to the soldiers.

"Gentlemen, I think you know what to do." Smirked Lukas, as he and the others started to go away, just as a few police officers arrived.

"Lukas Romstein, Bud Pedersoli, Terence Girotti! You are taken under arrest for the assault on 23 men, and the failed attempt, of escaping from the law!" Said the officer, while the three men just rolled their eyes.

"Good timing officer. While you were gone, these tugs, who are clearly Bolsheviks, took over all downtown, killing innocent civilians, and took hold of downtown for over 12 hours, till we freed it, without using any kind of gun. Now, if you will excuse us, we need to see our friend the grand duchess of Orussia, Miss Anastasia Romanov, to report that the town has been freed. Good Bye!" Said Lukas firmly, and started off, leaving the officer at a loss for words.

 **The next day**

Lukas, Shirley, Yoshika, Francesca and Lynette returned to the base the next day, after Anastasia cleared things with the police officers. When he got home, he was awaited by two girls, one a Karlslander red head, the other a black haired Fusoan; both of which had an angry frown on their face.

"I'm in trouble aren't I?" Asked the engineer nervously.

"Yep. What did you think?" Asked Minna.

"*sigh* How many days latrine work?" Asked the engineer.

"Good idea. I thought about getting you grounded for a few weeks, but that's even better." Smiled Minna, her smile making Lukas quiver.

"2 weeks of latrine duty for you, but before that, get some rest and get into a good suit. The HQ has invited us, as well as the other joint fighter wings, to an gathering in Moscow." Said Minna.

"The plane will land in half an hour, so make sure you are quick." continued the commander.

"You can call that stupid thing off. I will bring you there with my train! Better travel there in style, don't you think?" He said, smiling slyly.  
"TOBIAS! ALEX! You two will make sure the base is in top condition!" Shouted the engineer to the two others, who just grumbled.

"Why do we need to stay here, while you go out and have fun?!" Shouted the blond engineer back.

"Because I said so, that's why!" Laughed the engineer back, and turned to the others.

"So, what are we waiting for?! The top brass is waiting for us!" He laughed, and raced off.

" **So, not bad for the start. Anyway, Happy new year guys, and don't blow yourself up out there, okay?"  
Telephone rings.**

" **Hello? What?! The whole shed?! But they are alright, right? Good. Tell them I'm going to pick them up. And send the bill for the repairs and the firefighters to the girl with red hair."  
"*sight* They are SOOOO in trouble. Well, this will be the last chapter for a while. But don't grieve, 'cause I'm writing on a crossover, called "Strike Witches-Outa time". Three times you can guess what the others series in this crossover will be. Small hint: "Great Scott!". Good Bye, and good luck surviving the night! **


	12. Chapter 11

**Okay, I'm back! Sorry I was gone for so long, but the real world kept me from writing. But, I now got a job as an engineer for DB Schenker, and nearly finished on my school project, so I got time to write... a bit. Anyway, have fun, and if you have any Ideas how to make this Fan fiction less shitty, leave a review!**

"Home sweet war zone!" sighted Lukas, as he flipped himself onto the couch of the base, happy to finally be home.

"Ehem!" Came a annoyed voice next to him, and he lifted his hat slightly, to see Perrine, eyeing him angrily.

"You rang?" He asked cheekily.

"Would you be so kind and make some space to let someone else on the couch too?" She asked.

"I could..." Began the engineer, as the Gallian girl sighted gratefully.

"But I'm just to comfortable to be bothered." Smirked Romstein, making Perrine face palm.

"Come on now! I am just as tired as you, and I need to rest!" She puffed tiredly.

"Oh really? 'cause I can't remember seeing you fight against two KGB agents, or trying to stop your future self from running into a freight train." Grumbled the boy.

"Now now you two, don't start to fight. We finally got order from HQ to bring girl for an meeting with the world leaders, to negotiate peace between us." Said Minna, coming into the room.

"Oh? Where are we going to take her?" Asked Mio.

"To Berlin. The negotiations are going to be held there." Explained Minna.

"Just like on the picture in the museum... But that'll be a pretty long trip to go, not to forget that we must move without making any unnecessary attention. The people would go loco if they would see girl inside the train; no offense though." Said Lukas, looking at the Neuroi in the room.

"non taken." Said the humanoid alien. Over the time she was at the base, she learned many new words, and could now talk perfectly.

"I would say we start moving as soon as nightfall hits us. The night will be our perfect cover to start, and if we're lucky, we'll reach the Orussian border by tomorrow morning." Said Lukas.

"Alex, Tobias, make sure that the tender is filled to the brim; I don't think we'll be back before the end of the week." Continued the engineer, as he looked at the calendar.

"Hey Barky! Looks like we'll be celebrating new year back home!" Shouted Lukas through the room, getting the veteran witches attention.

"Really?!" Asked Erica, as she looked over his shoulder, and onto the calendar.

"Yeah, if we are quick, we'll be in Berlin at 23:30 on the 31st." Explained the engineer, but then frowned when he looked at the clock.

"But we need to hurry. Barky, Erica, go tell the others to pack their stuff together, we'll be gone from here in 2 hours!" Finished Romstein, and the two Karlsland witches raced off (or better said, Trude raced off, pulling Erica after her.)

"Minna, could you phone down to the station to get us a clear path? I need to check the bearings of the loco through; a long ride like this is going to take a tole on her, I can assure you that." Said Lukas neutrally, and walked off before the commander got a chance to reply.

The young captain walked up to his engine, and got an old oil can and a piece of cloth out of the tool box, and started to walk along the side of the engine, screwing off the caps of the axle boxes, and let the oil inside the boxes. After that, he got inside the cab, and looked around; the engine was practically his home for the last 5 years, but what would happen to her after the war? If he was lucky, he would be allowed to start working on the railways of Karlsland again, but he wouldn't be allowed to use his engine on his old branch line, the engine was just too big for the line. But if he wasn't that lucky, they would keep the engine in army service, for whatever purpose they would give her. His train of thoughts was derailed and crashed against a cliff side, when the sound of water splashing over someone was heard behind him. He stood up, and climbed over the coal to the water lid, where a soaked Alex, and a red Tobias stood.

"And you two always say I'm clumsy..." sighted Lukas, and got the hose out of the tank.

"I-I-I don't know how this h-h-happened." Shivered Alex.

"Seams like someone hadn't paid attention to the water level in the tender. Get inside and dry off, before you catch a cold." Said the young captain, and shooed the two men inside.

"No, lets get this water off of this rust bucket before it freezes the water lit shut." He mumbled, and got a broom out, pushing the water that was still fluid off of the tender. The water that had already frozen, was picked loose with the coal shovel. Afterwards, he reversed the engine inside the sheds, and picked up the 'George Washington', and pulled up to the platform.

"Two weeks, and the war might be over for us old girl. Lets just hope nothing happens." Muttered the engineer, and got out of the cab, to get the girls and Neuroi.

"Ladies, your train is ready. Alex, Tobias, you'll stay guard with Bud and Terence; we can't risk any more breaches of Bolsheviks, and I can't risk Alex getting a cold so close before the end of the war; when we are all back in Karlsland, we need to start with the rebuilding right away, and that means: we'll have to work for 3." Said Lukas, as he got inside the house.

"If you say so..." Grumbled Alex.

The girls all got on board the coach, and got a seat. Girl was still a bit confused as to why she needed to sit, but took a seat anyway. With the typical blast of the three chime whistle, the 'Commander' slowly steamed out of the base.

They passed the station of New Republiska without any problem, and soon were racing through the cold Orussian night. Lukas was sitting in the cab, his eyes on the rails in front of the train, and his left hand was on the throttle. The bark of the steam, rushing out of the funnel, and the rattling of the wheels was intoxicating, and he slowly drifted to sleep, but always jerked his head up, trying to stay awake. He grabbed a can of coffee that was hanging over the firebox door, and purred himself a cup, downing it in one go.

"Getting tired?" Asked a voice behind him.

"A bit, yeah. I never worked all nighters when I worked back home. Branch lines weren't worked in the night." Sighted Lukas, as Shirley sat onto the bed on the firemans side.

"I could take over for a bit." Suggested Shirley.

"If you want. Just make sure that the water doesn't goes beneath the red mark on that glass, and if the fire's getting yellow, open this valve; the stoker will do the rest. And if anything, and I mean ANYTHING is on the line, blocking our path, wake me up, get my gun and by god, don't go out of the cab! I've got a bad feeling in my stomach, and my stomach never lied to me." Said Lukas, and swapped places with Shirley, lying down onto his bed, and sleeping in only seconds later. The travelers on board the coach all went to sleep a long time ago, making Shirley the last person awake on the train. But after a little while, she too began to drift away. The last thing she noticed while being awake, was that the headlights color started to change from its usual yellow to an electric blue.

 **The next morning**

Shirley slowly woke up, but her eyes flashed open when she remembered that she was the one driving the train. She looked around, and saw that they were alright, but had stopped in the middle of the line. She got out, and looked around; They were in the middle of a forest, with big pine trees lining the track side. But as she walked up to the cowcatcher, she saw a girl, sitting on the cowcatcher. She was about her size, and wore a dark blue uniform, with red and gold stripes. Her blond hair ran down to her shoulders, and the on top of it was a blue railway cap, which looked like Lukas', only with an different ribbon. She wore a dark blue skirt, and had black shoes.

"Um, hello?" Said Shirley, unsure who the stranger was, and why she sat on the cowcatcher.

"Good, your up. The tracks are clear and set for the Karlsland border. You should reach it by the afternoon." Said the girl, and stood up, starting to go down the tracks.

"Wait! Who are you?!" Asked Shirley, but the girl didn't say anything, she just kept on going.

"UGH! Shirley, who are you talking to?" Came the voice of Lukas, as he got out of the cab, stretching his limps and yawning loudly.

"I was just talking to-" Began Shirley, and turned around, just to see the empty tracks in front of the train.

"Shes gone..." She whispered.

"Who is gone?"

"That girl, I didn't saw her face, but she was sitting on the cowcatcher, and wore a uniform that looked like yours! She said the tracks are clear, and set for the Karlsland border, she was just walking down the tracks when you came out, but now shes gone!" Explained Shirley, as Lukas' face turned white, and he hid his eyes behind his hat.

"Whats wrong?" Asked Shirley.

"Nothing, get on board. The tracks are clear, and we can't block the main line, especially in the daytime." Said the engineer with an low voice.

Shirley walked back to the cab, confused about the boys behavior. Lukas looked down the tracks, and then back at his engine, just to see the headlamp glowing in an electric blue light for a brief second. His eyes got watery, but he wiped them dry again, and walked back to the cab, letting his hand glide along the connecting rods. He climbed aboard again, and slowly, the train started to move again. The train rattled through the countryside, till they reached a small station, where Lukas brought the train to an stop.

"Why are we stopping here?" Asked Shirley.

"We're nearly out of water and we need some breakfast. And as an engineer of the railway corps, I and every passenger of the train gets a free meal at every station. One of the advances when you work for the railway: we're all one family, both in war and peace. Now come on! Get the girls out of the coach and I go and talk to the station master." Said Lukas, and got out of the cab.

Shirley got the others out of the coach, and they all walked to the station building. There, a friendly old man greeted them.

"Good morning! I'm honored to have soldiers visiting my humble station. Please, take a seat, breakfast should be ready soon." Smiled the station master, as the girls sat down to a long table.

"You girl have some breakfast, I fill up the tank." Smiled Lukas, and walked out.

Half an hour later, Lukas still hadn't returned, and Shirley was getting worried about him. She went outside, and went to the engine. The tender lit was shut, and the cab was empty, like nobody went inside it since they went for breakfast. The only difference was that the gun compartment was open, but seemingly nothing was missing. She got out of the cab again, and walked to the coach, where girl was.  
"Hey girl, did you see Lukas around here?" She asked.

"He said he heard something in the bushes, and said I should stay inside." Said girl monotonously.

"That doesn't sound good. I better get the others." Said Shirley concerned.

She walked back to the station, but could hear the sound of voices, shouting inside, followed by an loud gunshot, and some screams. She rushed inside, just to see Lukas, collapsing to the ground, and a group of men, standing near the entrance of the station.

"Hm, what do we have hear lads? Another little kitten?" Sneered one of the men.

"You came just in time, we just wanted to start having a little 'fun' with your friends." Chuckled the man darkly, while some of the others walked towards the girls, who were standing, ready to fight, at the entrance to the station masters office.

"Don't do anything stupid, or do you want to end up like your friend?" Growled the man, pointing at Lukas, who was panting heavily, but tried to get up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you boy, it could be bad for your health..." sneered another man, and put his foot on the wounded mans back, pushing him back to the ground.

Suddenly, the windows cracked, and a Neuroi beam hit the man pinning Lukas to the floor, killing him instantly. The men still alive were shocked, and tried to run for cover, just for some of them to get struck by the beams too. The leader of the group, and the men that were still alive, scrambled for the exits, but were hit by bullets, as Lukas had stood in the hall, blood coming from his chest, and a Winchester rifle in his hands. He wobbled over to the leader, who was now lying on the ground, with blood coming out of his chest and lower torso.

"End of the line, punk." Spat Lukas, and aimed the gun to the head, and pulled the trigger.

As soon as the leader stopped moving, Lukas toppled over, and crashed onto his back. Yoshika ran over to him, and started to heal him as fast as possible. Shirley knelled next to him.

"What happened?!" She asked.

"These bastards came in and wanted money from the station master, he didn't have any, so they wanted to take us instead. The station master tried to stop them, but was killed. Lukas came in and killed a few of them, but was shot in the rips, just before you came in." Explained Mio, as Yoshika healed Lukas.  
"I felt that something was wrong, so I came out and shot at the men in here. I'm sorry." Came a voice from the platform side door, as girl came in.

"You don't need to apologize. You saved us." Came a weak reply, as Lukas talked with closed eyes.

"I heard the bastards sneaking around the station, so I went after them with that Winchester. Bastards were more then I thought they were; got me pretty good." chuckled the engineer, but winced when the pain shot again.

"I can't do more then that." Sighted Yoshika, as she backed away from Lukas. The young captain still had a hole in his chest, but it had stopped bleeding.

Yoshika put a bandage around the hole, and helped Lukas onto his feet.

"Appreciated kid. And don't worry, I already took a bullet or two in my life at the front, so don't fret yourself, I know my way around handling these sorts of wounds." Smiled the engineer, and walked to the dead station master.

"Poor bastard. You better go onto the train, I'll take care of the station master." Said Romstein, a sad look on his face.

Lukas dug a hole for the poor man, and placed him inside. After filling it, he placed a makeshift cross on his grave, and placed the mans hat on it. After locking the doors, he nailed a note onto the station doors: "Station master dead, unmanned station till further notice". After that, he climbed back into his engine, and started the train off again.

The run towards the border was uneventful after that. Lukas cooked lunch for the girls in the cab (it was just some eggs and bacon that were cooked on the shovel) and the girls spend the time reading, playing or anything to pass the time. It was nearly 2pm when the surroundings changed from green countryside to buildings and big streets, many of them were destroyed, but the rebuilding had already started, and people were bustling about, repairing this house and demolishing that pile of rubble for further use. The train slowed down, when it neared a big station with many tracks, where many different types of trains stood. The train came to an complete stop, and a MP soldier walked up to the cab.

" _Guten Morgen_ , sir. Your papers _bitte_." Said the soldier, with an Karlsland accent.

" _Hier bitte_." Said Lukas, and gave the papers.

"Ah, _Fronturlauber_ right? Good to see that you guys hold out up there." Smiled the man.

"Not really _Fronturlauber_ , were on a special mission, ordered by the Kaiser himself. Here are the orders." Said Lukas, and gave him the order.

" _Bei Karl_... Sorry to hold you up! Rightaway, _Hauptmann_ Romstein." Said the man, saluting to the engineer.

"No problem. And keep up the good work, _Feldwebel_ Langenberg." Said the young captain, saluting in return, and got back into the cab.

The train started off again, now on Karlslandian tracks. The engine steamed proudly down the line, whistle blasting every few minutes, and soon, they reached Dresden, the journey goal of the day. Lukas looked around; he went to Dresden lots of times when he was younger, to visit his aunt, and the station still looked as grand as ever, even though it had been attacked by the Neuroi. The engineer reversed the train out of the platform, and into the shunting yards, which had already been repaired. From there, he let the engine roll into the big roundhouse, where many different Karlsland engines stood; all of them looked like they hadn't seen a wash down in weeks, but they were all in steam, and in workable condition.

"Finally back home." Sighted the engineer, as he stopped the train on the turntable, which was big enough for his engine and the coach.

After getting turned to an empty shed berth, he reversed the train into the shed, and stopped it there. He walked back to the coach, and got inside, smiling at the girls inside.

"Ladies, welcome to Dresden, capitol of the free state Saxony. Were going to stay here till tomorrow, 9:30am on the dot, so you all have till them to explore what little is left of the old city, and visit some the places that are already rebuild. So, go out and explore the city! I'll be here and service the engine." Said the engineer, and pushed them out of the sheds.

The girls went through the gates of the roundhouse, and split up into groups. Minna, Gerturd and Erica went to look around what was left from the city. Eila and Sanya just walked around. Perrine, Yoshika and Lynette went to look at the women's church, and Shirley and Francesca searched for something to eat. Lukas, after servicing the engine, walked to a bar that was a short walk away from the roundhouse. He walked in and was greeted by the sound of music and men, laughing about ridicules things. He smiled, and walked up to the bartender.

" _Abend_ soldier. What shall it be?" Smiled the man.

" _Bier_. Apoldaer." Came the answer.

"Ah, I see you know a good beer." Chuckled the man, and gave the engineer a glass filled with beer.

"I come from Apolda, better said, a village outside of Apolda." He explained.

"Aha. How come your all the way up here then?"  
"I'm stationed in Orussia, but I'm ordered to Berlin."  
"I see. Well then, cheers." Said the bartender, and pulled a bottle up, and drank with Lukas.

 **A few hours later**

The girls all had returned from their exploring tour, but Lukas was still out, and it was nearing midnight.  
"Shirley, could you go out and fetch our lover? We can't move if he isn't here, and every good soldier must get his sleep." Said Trude, as she climbed into the coach.

"Hes 23, he knows to look after himself." Said Shirley cheekily.

"Yeah, I saw that after he and you had that drinking contest back at the base." Said Trude, rolling her eyes.

"Wait, you saw what happened?!" Asked Shirley, shocked.

"No, but I heard it loud and clearly. Who would've guessed that your such an screamer?" Smirked Trude, while Shirley blushed deep red.

"You won't tell the others or Minna about it, do you?" Asked Shirley nervously.

"Not if you go and fetch Lukas." Said Trude.

"Okay, I'm going." Sighted Shirley, and walked out of the sheds.

Shirley walked outside, and asked a workman near the coaling plant if he had seen Lukas. He showed him where Lukas went to, and walked off, as a tank engine pulled up to the plant. Shirley walked to the bar, and looked inside. It was nearly empty, with only a small group of people at the bar. She got inside, and walked up to the group, and in the middle, was the 23 year old engineer himself, laughing his head off with two other men.

"...and then, the coal truck crashed through the buffers, and crashed right into the car of the cop!" Laughed Lukas, and the others joint in.

"Dear lord boy your killing me." Chuckled one of the men, as Shirley coughed loudly, so that all eyes went to her.

"Shirley! Good to see you! Come here, get a beer!" Smiled Lukas, his cheeks red and his eyes unfocused.

"I better not. And you better get up and with me! Don't forget we need to leave tomorrow!" Said Shirley.

"You know what, your right! Jonas, put what I owe you on the tab, I'll pay it back when I come through here again!" Slurred Lukas, and started to wobble to the door.

They walked slowly back to the sheds, with Shirley helping Lukas most of the time not to fall on his face. They were soon back at the Sheds, and Lukas climbed aboard his engine, and threw himself onto the bed.  
"You really shouldn't drink that much Lukas, it isn't healthy." Sighted Shirley.

"Hey Shirls, how about you come here and we repeat what happened that night in the shed?" Smirked Lukas, as Shirley blushed bright red.  
"B-but you said you couldn't remember?!" Stammered the redhead.

"My brain remembers stuff better if it is bathed in alcohol! Now come here, and lets have some fun." Smirked the engineer, trying to stand up, only to fall face first onto the cab floor, and passing out a second later.

"ooooookay, weird situation we never go and speak about again. Lets get you back to bed." Sighted Shirley, and heaved the man back into bed, and placed herself next to him, just to make sure he'll be alright when he wakes up.


	13. Chapter 12

The next morning came, and the girls all woke up with the sounds of steam locomotives hissing and chuffing around them. Lukas got up very late, and with an hangover.

"Ugh, Apolda, this rounds yours." Groaned the engineer, as he got to work, building up the fire of his engine.

"Well kid, if you can't stand it, you shouldn't touch it." Laughed another engineer, who was readying his engine for the day.

"Yeah yeah, better get your 55 ready, before it breaks apart." Replied the young man sarcastically.

"Still a better engine then your Liberion rust pile." Retorted the man.

"Shut up." Grumbled Lukas, as the safety valve blew off.

"Well, see ya kid. And don't derail any coal trucks in Berlin!" laughed the man, as Lukas climbed aboard his engine.

"Will do you old bastard!" Laughed the engineer back, and opened the regulator, letting the engine roll slowly out of the yards.

"Okay, seeing that the main line from Berlin to Dresden is still partly destroyed, we need to take a detour over Erfurt and Leipzig. Adding the time we need to go from Leipzig to Berlin, plus the time we need for letting other trains to overtake us, it shouldn't take us more then 10 hours. That is, if we don't make any stops along the way." Said Lukas to the girls, as the train rattled through the countryside.

"Aw, 10 hours? What shall we do in that?!" Grumbled Francesca.

"I duno. I'm engineer, not activity coach. Do whatever you want, as long as it is inside the coach, and does not involve destroying the interior of this thing." Shrugged Lukas, and walked back to the cab.

"Well, looks like this will be a quiet run. Let's hope it stays that way." Chuckled Lukas as he climbed into the cab, where Shirley sat at the throttle.

"Also, did anyone ever told you that you look beautiful behind the throttle of an steam engine?" Purred the engineer as he sneaked up behind Shirley, sending chills down her spine.  
"S-shut up." Stuttered the Liberion witch, her cheeks turning red.

"Also, I wasn't drunk enough to forget what happened last night, so how about we continue from where we left off?" Smirked the man, and kissed the girls neck, making her moan.

"N-not here."  
"Then were?"

Suddenly, there was a loud blast of an deep whistle, and a gush of wind blew into the cab as a long goods train raced into the opposite direction, making Lukas take his attention from his girlfriend and onto the track.

"Seems like they are doing some trackwork up the line. And always when you try to finish it..." Said Lukas, muttering the last part to himself.

He slowed the train down, and slowly passed the workmen, who waved at the unusual sight of a Liberion locomotive. They soon passed Halle, and continued on to Erfurt. They steamed through a forest, and were nearly out when a man appeared, frantically waving a red flag.

"Hold on tightly!" Shouted Lukas through the train intercom, and pulled the brakes full on.

The train screeched to a stop, just before a long curve. The man with the flag panted hard, and leaned on to the running board of the engine, as Lukas walked up to him.

"What's the problem, _Kamera- Herr_ Störing?" Asked Lukas, shocked to see the station master of his home town again.

"Romstein? _Junge_ I'm so glad to see you! There's been an accident up ahead, blocking the main line. The breakdown train is on its way, but it won't be hear before the evening." Smiled the old station master.  
"But we are on our way to Berlin! We need to go now!" Said Lukas.  
"Sorry lad, no can do. But the village is nearly finished. I bet you and your friends can rest in your old house." Suggested the man.

"It can't be helped then." Sighted Romstein, and walked back to the cab.  
"Hey, _Herr_ Störing! How about I give you a lift back to the station?" Smiled Lukas.

" _Danke_ Lukas." Smiled the man, and climbed onto the running plate of the engine.

The train slowly rolled into the station, and stopped at the old concrete platform. In the distance, there was the sight of a goods train, with many of its trucks scattered around the running lines, and the field around them. Störing walked back to the station, and Lukas walked to the coach.

"Well, looks like we got ourselves a more or less long break. A train derailed up ahead, and is blocking the line. We're not going anywhere any time before tomorrow. But, we are at my home village, so I can at least show you guys around." Smiled Lukas, and started to walk outside.

He stepped onto the platform, and looked around, taking in the sights and sounds. The station still looked like it wasn't touched at all over the time of the Neuroi occupation, the stone brick structure still showing off the pride of the Prussian railways. The goods buildings and yard further up still showed some minor damage, but nothing that couldn't be repaired. The young engineer started to walk out of the station, and slowly made his way down the old gravel path towards the main part of the village. He walked down the main road, and saw how people worked on a house, that had been partly destroyed in the war. He waved to them, but they didn't wave back. They only looked at him, some of them gasping.

"I wonder what's wrong with them." Muttered the man, and continued to walk down the road.

After crossing over a small bridge, he was came to an white, two-story house, with a red roof, at a turn in the road. When he got closer, he saw a plague, hanging on the houses wall. On it were the faces of him and his brother. He took a look at the bottom of the plague, he gasped.

 _In Erinnerung an die mutigen Lokomotivführer Lukas und Martin Romstein, welche bei der Evakuierung in Operation Dynamo ihr Leben ließen_

 _(In honor of the brave engineers Lukas and Martin Romstein, who died in_ _Operation Dynamo while helping with the evacuation)_

"Now who came up with this kind of cruel joke?! I'm still pretty much alive, last time I checked!" Ranted Lukas, as Shirley and the others came up to him.

"Lukas? Is that you?" Came a voice, and he turned around, to see a man in his early 20s, with brown hair and black coat, coming from the house next to Lukas'.

"Vince? Is that you?! Dear god you look like shit!" Said Lukas with an smirk.

"Still better then looking like I hadn't had a bath for the last 3 weeks." Came the cheeky retort.

"That's because I hadn't. I come straight from the Orussian front. But what about the plague? How come they think I died in Operation 'Dynamo'?"

"We only heard from an colleague of yours that you and Martin took your trains to Calais, but we heard that a boat was destroyed in the harbor. We thought you and Martin were on board the ship when it was destroyed." Explained Vince.

"Your partly right there." Said Lukas silently.

"What do you mean by that?"  
"Martin was on the ship that was destroyed. I only found the burned out ship when I visited Calais a few weeks ago." Explained Lukas.

"I'm sorry to hear that. But, you should better get inside, your mother should have lunch finished soon." Said Vince, and went back to his house.

"Wait, do you mean-" But he couldn't finish, as Vince already disappeared into his house.

The engineer walked quickly to the door, and knocked. Walking could be heard from behind the door, and a woman opened the door.

"Lukas?!" She asked.

"Hello Mum." Smiled Lukas.

"But, I thought you were in Orussia?"

"Yeah, I was till 3 days ago. I'm on my way to Berlin, with a top secret cargo on board my train." Explained Lukas.

"And who are your friends?"  
"Mum, this is the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, my sisters-in-arms, sorta speak." Grinned Lukas.

"Sergeant Yoshika Miyafuji, daughter of Doctor Miyafuji; Master Sergeant Lynette Bishop, Yoshikas best friend and with her, the head chiefs of our Group; Pilot Officer Francesca Lucchini, youngest member and best friend of Charlotte 'Shirley' E. Yeager; Flying Officer Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen, the girl that never uses a shield and best friend of Sanya V. Litvyak, Flying Officer Sanya V. Litvyak, our night patrol, and an artist on the piano; Flying Officer Perrine-H. Clostermann, noble woman of Gallia, and a little bit stuck up-"

"HEY!"

"You know I'm right. Anyway, next up is Flying Officer Erica Hartmann, the 'black devil' of the skies and the best ace of Karlsland, Flying Lieutenant Charlotte E. Yeager, the fastest person on the planet, and my girlfriend-"

"Wait, since when are you two together, and why doesn't you tell your mother anything?!" Asked Mrs. Romstein.

"Mum, I'm **23** years old, and this is a bloody war. Do you think I have any time to tell you something like that. Back to the introductions; Flying Lieutenant Gertrude Barkhorn, compared to her strictness to discipline, dad is harmless; Squadron Leader Mio Sakamoto, our field commander, and last but not least, Wing Commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke, our commanding officer and a talented voice. Honestly, not even Mr. Franke could sing any better." Said Lukas.

"It's nice to meet the girls who keep us and the world save. But please come in! Lunch should be ready any minute now." She said, and lead them in.

"So this is where you grew up?" Asked Erica.

"Yeah. Isn't much, but its what I call home." Smiled Lukas.

"Hey mum, is my room still standing?" Asked the engineer.

"Yes, you still know the way, right?" Said the elderly woman cheekily.

"I could get there with my eyes closed." Chuckled the engineer, and lead the girls to his room.

"Man, nothing changed in here. Looks just like when I left for Halle." Smiled Lukas, and looked around the small room.

"Man, you really are a railway fan." Said Perrine, seeing the model railway that ran through the room, and the many different engines on the shelf's.

"Watch it Perrine, some of them are running on real steam, and I have no idea how much oil I used on the motion parts." Said Lukas, trying to start the radio, while Perrine stepped a few meters away from the small engines.

"Let's see, only that knob and..." The young engineer murmured, and turned a knob, starting the radio, and getting a static sound in return. After turning another knob, a voice was heard.

"... on the intensive care station. The two men, both from Romagna, were taken to the police station of new Republiska for questioning, on which Bud Pedersoli stated: "No Bolsheviks are going to take the town over, and we'll take care of this. Lukas, I hope you come back fast, 'cause those bastards are growing again.". The police said they will look into Bolshevik actions around new Republiska. And now to the Connaught Rangers, who are singing 'It's a long way to Tipperary'."

"Looks like we need to go to Berlin even faster." Grumbled Lukas, having hoped that he could take a few days off in Berlin, just as his stomach started to grumble.

"But first, lets get something to eat. I can already smell the ' _Jägerschnitzel_ ' and Spaghetti." Grinned the engineer, and walked out of the room, and towards the kitchen.

 **One lunch later...**

"So, I see they did quite some work on repairing the village. I hope they have it finished by the end of the war." Smiled Lukas, as he, his mother and father, stood in the doorway.

"You know, one of these days you'll take over this house. Maybe together with miss Yeager?" Smirked his father.

"Maybe..." Muttered the engineer.

"But what about Emma?" Asked his mother, as Lukas facial expression darkened.

"She always has a place in my heart, but I need to move on. She would've wanted the same." Said Lukas, his face turned away from his parents, and towards the railway.

"The tracks should be cleared soon. I must get going, I want to show the girls Berlin while we still have 1945." Continued the young man, now facing his parents again, and giving both a hug.

"Hey, you still got your old Winchester?" Asked his father.

"I wouldn't throw away the first gun I shot with, would I? Don't worry, I have it with me where ever I travel." Smiled the man, and started to walk away.

"We see each other next year!" He shouted to them, and turned around a corner, heading towards the station.

"Mr. Störing was still on duty, and but was now in company of a few more railway workers, who instantly recognized Lukas.

"Hey, guys! Its the tank engine!" Said one.

"I don't believe it! I thought you went to the sheds up in the skies!" Chuckled another.

"Is that clapped out Liberion piece of junk your engine? Well, at least compared to your first loco its something of an upgrade." Smirked the last.

"The P8 trio! Lads, I never thought I would see you again!" Laughed Lukas.

"Well, it needs a lot more then some stupid aliens then to take us out!" Said the first.

"I know, those and a few bottles of whiskey. Anyway, thanks for clearing the line for me. But I need to go now, I'm needed in Berlin. _Bis bald_." Smiled Lukas, and jumped aboard his engines, and pulled the whistle.

" _Bis bald_ tank engine!" The three men waved, as the train slowly departed.

They rolled through Weimar and soon reached Erfurt, and after that, continued further down the line towards Magdeburg. After stopping there for dinner and servicing of the engine, and continued on their final stretch towards Berlin.

 **A few hours later**

The train has been running through the rural countryside of Karlsland, but this now changed to houses, factories, and trains of all shapes a sizes. Just then, the intercom started up again.

"Ladies, welcome to Berlin. We will reach the Berlin Anhalter Station in 15 minutes, so prepare yourself for the biggest and busiest passenger station of Karlsland!" Said Lukas, the smile noticeable over the intercom.

The train rattled over the points in front of the station, but then took a turn to the left, and started to decent into a tunnel. The train soon came up to an long platform, where a long line of Karlsland soldiers stood. Lukas stopped the train and jumped out of the cab, the girls following suit. They walked up to an lift, where a general in his mid 50s waited for them. Lukas recognized instantly.

" _Wüstenfuchs_! Long time no seen. What are you doing so far away from the deserts of Afrika?" Asked the engineer Erwin Rommel.

"They have ordered me here with an squadron to make sure that the Neuroi is save and sound, when the negotiations take place." Said the general, and turned to Girl.

"You must be Girl. As general of the Karlsland army, I welcome you to Berlin. If you would follow us, the car is waiting. Captain Romstein, I trust you and the 501st will join us soon at the _Reichstag_?" Said the general.

"Of course sir! But before that, I need to bring my train to the sheds. Can't keep the Kaisers track blocked can I?" Smiled the engineer, as he walked back to the girls, as Girl and Rommel boarded the lift.

"Okay girls, our hotel is right across the road. You'll go on and go to your rooms, I'll take care of my train. See you guys soon." Explained Romstein, and got back into the cab of his engine. After reversing the train out of the tunnel, he got to the roundhouse of the Anhalter Station. He uncoupled the coach in the yards, and reversed the engine into the sheds. After doing the usual routine on the motion parts, he got back inside to finish the fire off. He dropped the fire, but noticed a mysterious figure behind him. Before he had any time to grab his gun, he already was hit on the head, and crashed to the ground.

" _Lokführer_ is down. Let's take him to the place." Said the figure, just as Lukas passed out...

 **Somewhere in the industrial parts of Berlin**

Lukas slowly woke up, just to see that he was in the back of an truck. He tried to move, but he was tied up, and had a cloth in his mouth. The truck stopped, and the door of the driver cabin was slammed shut. He closed his eyes as the same man that had knocked him out earlier picked him up and brought him inside a small hut. He got to the telephone and dialed a number.

"Hello? Yes, I got him. You took care of the locomotive? Good. Yes, will do. After all, a good railway man leaves his road on train." Said the man, the smirked audible in his voice.

The man left the hut, and Lukas got up in his chair, and scooted over to the telephone. He twisted and turned his head, and the cloth came loose. He quickly dialed a number with his nose, and the calling sound rang through the receiver.

"Hello? Kjeld Jensen here."

"Get Egon and Benny and come to the shunting yards of the industrial complex at the other side of Berlin! I've got no time for explanations!" Said Lukas.

"What?! Y-yes, we'll come, j-just don't move." Said Kjeld, and hung up.

"Very funny." Grumbled the engineer, and scooted back to his seat, and closed his eyes again.

The man returned, and picked Lukas up, and brought him outside again. This time, he put him on an flatbed, which was pushed onto the main line by an small diesel shunter. Lukas eyes flew open when he heard the growling of the diesel, and looked around, seeing the truck halfway across the main running line.

"HEY! What do you think your doing?! Untie me this instance!" Shouted the man.

"Not going to happen Romstein. You never should've gotten into contact with the Neuroi. You don't even know the league your in now. But for an railway man, it should be an honor to go down with an train, and the 20:35 evening freight should be here any minute now. Don't worry about your girly friends though; they will meet up with you again pretty soon." Sneered the man, and walked away.

Lukas twisted and turned on the flatbed, trying to get the ropes loose, but they wouldn't budge. Suddenly, there was a distant howl of an whistle, and the pumping of pistons started to come from down the line.

"EGON! BENNY! KJELD! HELP ME!" He screamed, just as three men appeared from around the hut.

The first was a man in his late 40s, with an bowler hat and black suit, the second was a man in his mid 20s with light brown and black checked jacket and dark brown pants, with an fitting fedora hat, and the last one, also in his mid 20s, wore a dark brown jacket with tie and light gray pants, and had a flat cap on his head.

"Look!" Said the second man.

"You took your time! Untie me, before I get turned into locomotive decoration!" Shouted Lukas, as the second and third man started to untie him. The train came closer and closer, and soon, the two twin head lamps came into view. Lukas finally got free, and jumped with the two men from the flatbed, just as the train smashed through it, destroying it completely.

"Phew, that was too close. Thank you guys, I owe you one." Panted Lukas.

"What happened?" Asked the man with bowler hat.

"Somebody knocked me out, said I don't know what league I'm playing in, tied me onto that flatbed and left me to die! I must warn my friends, before they will get them too! He also said that they got my locomotive; I need you to get it back, I'm useless without it."  
"We'll try, but where do you think they took it?" Asked the older man.

"I don't really know. Try to ask the men at the sheds, maybe they saw where the engine went." Said Lukas, and raced off.

 **At the station hotel**

"Hello sir, how can I help you?" Asked the women behind the counter.

"I'm part of the group of girls that checked in earlier today, could you give me their room numbers? I'm a bit late you see." Explained the man.

"Of course sir. They are room numbers 406-413. Have a nice stay." She smiled, as the man walked off.

He got to the rooms, and knocked at the first. There, Yoshika opened.

"Lukas? Why are you so late? I didn't thought that servicing an engine could take so long!"

"No time to explain! Are the others all in their rooms?!" Asked Lukas.

"Not all, Shirley and Lucchini went to have dinner already. What's going o-"  
"Collect all the others, and get them in here! Open the door only if it is me!" And he raced off.

He grabbed Shirley and Lucchini (Who grumbled all the way up to the hotel room about not getting seconds) and explained to the girls what happened to him.

"Who would do something like that. And what did he mean with, that you don't know what league your in?" Asked Minna.

"This is only a thought, but he also mentioned that I shouldn't have made contact with the Neuroi. I'm sorry to say this, but I think we have some traitors among the ones that know about the Girl coming here." Said Lukas darkly.

"What do you mean?" Asked Sakamoto.

"Nobody except the high ranking officers and the squadron of Rommels men knew about Girl, so either somebody got into our radio link, or we have a traitor among us. Either way, we should probably sleep with an eye open and an gun under our pillows till the negotiations are over. We are onto something big, and they know it, and want us gone and done with. So, we will always stick together, never go alone, and diffidently **wont** go out without our secondary firearms. Let's get some sleep, the negotiations are going to start tomorrow, and we need to be on highest alert. Also, until we know if our radios are pinched-" He pulled his radio device out. "We won't use these. I just hope Egon, Benny and Kjeld find the commander before this shit starts to go wrong completely." Said Lukas, and left the girls, to get some rest himself.

 **So, not really much to say here really. The secret 'Kaiser track' at the Berlin Anhalter Station is a reference to the secret underground platform at the New York Central Station. Egon, Benny and Kjeld are three famous characters from a movie series; whoever knows what Series I mean, write it in the reviews. The solution comes with the next chapter... hopefully...**


	14. Chapter 13

The next morning, the 501st JFW made their way to the Reichstag in Berlin, where they went straight to the main conference room. They were greeted by Rommel, along with some other high ranking officers of the Karlsland army. Along with them was the Kaiser of Karlsland, as well as Winston Churchill, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and other world leaders. Girl was sitting right across from Churchill.

"Welcome to Berlin, Ms. Neuroi. I hope you had a save trip." Said Churchill.

"It was, all thanks to my friends of the 501st." Said Girl, looking at her friends.

"I see. Anyways, we should start talking about the war between our two races, or better said, how to end it." The Britannian man said.

But before any of the could start, there was the sound of gunfire in the halls, and through the doors burst a group of soldiers of different nations. The MP's inside the room took aim, but to the shock of everyone not at the invaders, but at the people inside the room.  
"What is the meaning of this?! This is treason!" Said one of the Karlsland generals.

"Shut up you old skeleton." Growled one of the soldiers.

Into the room stepped another man. He was pretty young, maybe 25 years old, with silver-blond, short cut hair, and an all black uniform. He stepped up to the 501st, and studied them carefully. He only stopped when his eyes fell on Lukas.

"I thought we already took care of you yesterday. Well, lets see how you get away a second time, aye? _Herr Lokführer_?" Said the man coldly, and turned to one of the MP's, whispering something to him, and walking to the high generals.

"Gentlemen, I am general Jürgen von Engelburg, and you, as well as this Neuroi, will follow me." He said in an oily voice.

"And what if we refuse?" Came the bold question from an elderly general.

In reply, Jürgen fired his Luger P08 at him, hitting his arm. The general screamed loudly, Yoshika wanted to help him, but was held back by Lynette and Lukas, knowing that she would be shot as well if she would try to help him.

"Now, if you would follow me? We have very _important_ business to take care of." Said von Engelburg, and started to walk out of the room, the generals and Girl were pushed out at gunpoint.

The MP's that were still in the room relieved the girls from their secondary weapons and brought them to an truck, where they were placed inside it, with one of the MP's getting in the back with them. They soon were driving through the streets of Berlin, all of them were either scared, or enraged about the turn of events.  
"Hey, Mr. I have more bullets than brains! How about you tell us where you are going to kill us?" Barked Lukas.

"Pretty big mouth for a dead man. You know, I have no problems with killing you right here and now, but that would draw too much attention. But let me tell you, where you are going, no mailman brings you letters." Crackled the man darkly.

Lukas shrunk back into his seat, thinking of an way to get to safety. He then saw over to Shirley, an idea forming in his mind.

"Pssh, hey Shirls! I've got a plan to get us out of here, but for that, I need you to..." Whispered Lukas.

"You really think that could work?" Asked Shirley.

"Either it'll work, or we're never going to work again. Pass the word to the others, we'll do it once we are near the station."

They were passing the station, when Lukas started to shuffle around his seat. That was the signal for the girls to start.  
"Hey, will you watch it? It's bad enough to know that we're going to die, but you don't need to take away all the space." Grumbled Shirley.

"Oh shut up, you take away the most space with all that extra weight at your front." Barked Lukas back.

"What?! At least I'm not a stupid railroad nutjob like you!"  
"Why you little-!"  
"Hey, stop it!" Said the MP, and got up, trying to stop the two from fighting. Yoshika, who was sitting next to the guard, quickly grabbed the keys, and started to open the cuffs of the other girls.

The MP was just about to slap Shirley, when Lukas stomped on his foot, and knelled him into his guts.

"Have you never heard its wrong to hit a lady?" Whispered Lukas hatefully, and headbutted the man, sending him flying from the truck, which in response stopped.

"Quickly! Get those cuffs off and get ready to fight! His buddies are next!" Said Lukas, and took his cuffs off, jumping from the back of the truck, and disappearing behind the corner of the truck.

After a few minutes, the girls hat beaten the men, and Lukas grabbed the one he threw off the deck of the truck, and pulled him straight to eye level.

"Now, you little wiener, tell me: who are you, why are you doing this, and where have you brought the Kaiser, Rommel and Girl?" Growled Lukas.

"I'm not a traitor. Do your worst, I won't talk." Said the man, with an cold glare.

"Hey! Our weapons!" Exclaimed Shirley, and pulled out their secondary guns from the drivers cabin.  
She threw Lukas colt to him, and he grabbed it, pointing the barrel directly at his nose, pulling the hammer back.

"We are a secret organization who want to keep the war going for the industrial benefit of the countries, we have set our base up in the alb mountains, but you will die before you even get in it!" Said the man quickly.

"Thanks... idiot." Smirked Lukas, and gave him a 'steam hammer' knocking him out cold.

"Girls, grab your stuff, we're heading out. Next stop, the albs!" Said Lukas, and raced of to the sheds of the Anhalter Station."

When he got there, he saw that the shed stall of his engine was still empty. Nervousness grew inside him, thinking of his engine, half scraped somewhere in a god damn place. The only thing that was still there was the 'George Washington', and a few old trucks. That was, until the chuffing of an engine could be heard, and the 'Commander' rushed into the yards, stopping just inches away from the coach. Out stepped Egon, Benny and Kjeld, all three of them where panting heavily.

"Thank god you got her back! I owe you two now!" Smiled Lukas.

"Not really, we could get her, but they are after her, and that means us, and you. We need to get going, now!" Said Egon.

"Get that engine turned around and coupled to the coach! We still need to wait for some friends of mine!" Said Lukas, as the three men climbed back aboard the engine, getting her turned around on the turntable.

The girls of the 501st soon arrived, letting Lukas sight in relieve.

"Grab a gun from the coach and prepare for a chase. We'll highball right out of here!" Said Lukas, pushing the girls inside the train. He jumped aboard his loco, and sunk into his seat. He quickly got her into motion, and were soon racing through the yards of the Anhalter Station. But from behind them, another locomotive came up, and the first bullets flew. They couldn't aim correctly, as they were switched from one track to another, trying to avoid colliding with another train. The signalman saw what was going on, and quickly set the points for the 'Commander' to continue towards the south, while the pursuers were sent down an old abandoned goods branch, which ended at an broken bridge.

The train with the group of escapees soon stopped at an small country station, where the car of the Olsen gang stood.

"Thank you for what you three did. Without your help, we would've been stuck, and most likely captured by those arses." Said Lukas.

"Yes, but we are on their hit list as well now. What should we do about that?" Asked Egon.

"I have a friend in Denmark, he could help you out. Just go to Ove Fridovson, and say your friends of the Karlsland engineer. He will give you a home, and some money for a start." Said Lukas, and climbed back into his engine.

"Good luck my friends!" Waved the engineer, as the locomotive departed from the station, and out onto the open line.

Lukas sat back into his seat, sighting. This whole situation was pretty hard to swallow; first the capturing of the Kaiser and his old friend Rommel, and then the abduction of Girl. Now, the whole world was in danger of war again, and all because of some people who want to keep the war going, for their own benefit! He perked up, when Shirley and Minna came into the cab.

"Hey"  
"Hey"  
"What are we going to do now?" Asked Minna

"We need to keep calm, and collect ourselves. We need to fight back, and brake our friends out of the claws of those warheads! The safety of the world is in grave danger; If the Neuroi find out that their representative is missing, they'll probably think we tricked them, and a peaceful ending of the war won't be an option anymore."  
"But how are we going to get them out? We are only 12, and we neither have our strikers, nor our guns!" Stated Minna.

"Your right there, but we know two people who have the guns, and the strikers. When we reach Weimar, I will call Alex and Tobias, and tell them to get the Strikers and guns loaded into the box car, and get them down here straight away!" Said Lukas, the fire visible in his eyes.

The train raced down the tracks, and by mid-afternoon, they reached Weimar. The station master was surprised to see an Liberion steam locomotive slowing down at track 1, and even more surprised, when he saw Lukas climbing down from the cab.

" _Herr_ Romstein?! Where did you come from?!" Asked the station master.

" _Herr_ Franke, it is great to see you again. But could we talk about this, inside the station? This is something that shouldn't be heard by everyone." Said Lukas calmly.

"I understand. Follow me." Said Mr. Franke, and lead the way to his office.

After explaining everything, Franke looked out of the window, and onto the main square in front of the station.

"This is a grave situation. We can't have anyone know that the Kaiser has been abducted, or the whole land could fall into anarchy. You can store your train in the roundhouse, till Alex and Tobias come here, and I can give you space to train for the rescue mission." Said Franke, but just then, the station intercom cracked into motion.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the police. We are afraid to tell you, that our beloved Kaiser has been abducted by the 501st joint fighter wing. Any hints or information of their hideout will be helpful to capture them. This is all." Came the voice of an man, and both Lukas' and Mr. Frankes pupils shrunk in shock.

"Shit..." Muttered Lukas.

"Is that true?" Asked Franke.

"No. But the ones who have actually captured him must have framed us. We need to free the Kaiser even faster now!" Said Lukas, concerned.

"But you can't stay at the sheds now. The risk of any foreign engineers seeing you or your friends is too risk." Said Mr. Franke.

"But what about the Laura? We could hid on one of the industrial siding for the time being. It would only be a few days anyway!" Suggested Lukas.

"We could try it." Muttered Franke, and looked through some folders.

"Here! The workers of the small silo are on strike, so there won't be any worker or any engineer there! We can hid you there!" Exclaimed the older man.

"Then we will hide there! Tell the signalman to set the switch to that siding, we'll move there right away. You need to call Alex and Tobias; tell them to get the strikers and guns into the box car, and get down here. And tell them to not stop at any station, they'll be imprisoned on the spot if they do." Said Lukas, and went to his engine, his scarf pulled over his mouth, so that he wouldn't be recognized right away.

He climbed into his engine, and started of as soon as the signal arm dropped. The train crossed over the tracks, and disappeared behind and curve. After a short while, they stopped again, and Lukas climbed over to the coach.

"Okay, so, here's the situation: We are on the run, those warheads framed us with abduction the Kaiser, and now the whole of Karlsland is after us. We need to free the Kaiser and prove that we are Innocent. We'll wait here till Alex and Tobias arrive with the strikers and guns, and then we'll go and free the Kaiser. Till then, we'll keep a low profile, and wait." Explained Lukas.

"It can't get any worse now, can it?" Asked Trude sarcastically.

"It will if you ask that question." Came the reply of Lukas, as he got out of the cab, and to his engine.

He didn't have enough time to check her in Berlin, and now made up for that. He oiled the motions and cleared out the ashes. After finishing his work, he climbed back aboard the cab, and sunk back into his seat. He looked back to the coach, where the girls where, making sure nobody would came out. He got to the tender, and opened a little compartment, and pulled out a bottle and a picture. He drank a bit from the bottle and looked at the picture. It was already ripped in a few places and had grease and oil on it, but it still was in good enough condition to see who was on it. On it was a small passenger train, with an small tank engine with the number 7 on it. Out of the cab leaned Lukas, only a few years younger, with his brother to his side. On the platform however, was a young girl, with light blond hair, blue eyes, and an slight smile. She wore the same uniform as Lukas and Martin, but with an different ribbon on her head. Lukas sighted, and looked around the cab, and out of the window.

"Oh Emma, when did this shit started to go so wrong? Probably back when the accident happened..." Said Lukas, a sad smile on his face.

"What happened?" Came a voice, and Lukas jumped, pulling his colt, and aiming at Yoshika, who jumped back in fright.

"Oh, its you."

"What happened, the accident, I mean." Asked the young Fusoan girl.

"It isn't a nice story, I tell you that. It was shortly after I became engineer and started to work on the branch line. Martin was working together with me on the same engine, as his was down for an overhaul. But it wasn't just me and him. I had an childhood friend, who had the same passion for trains as I had. She started to work for the railways as a guard, and always worked together with me on my trains, and we started dating after a while. Her name was Emma." Started Lukas.

"Wait, you named your engine after your childhood friend? That's so kind of you!" Smiled Yoshika.

"Not quite, but let me finish, and you'll understand. It was a misty morning, when we worked on an small goods train, but the mist was too thick, and we couldn't see the signals properly, and ran right past a red one. We neared the runaround station, and ran over the diamond crossing, when a passenger train crashed into us, directly between the coupling of the engine and the guards van. We were derailed, but my engine luckily didn't tipped over. We stopped after nearly running onto the road, but the luck was only ours. The guards van, as well as the first few trucks had tipped over, and partly ran into each other. The train that hit us stopped in the station, and the driver and fireman, as came over to us, to ask if we were alright. I couldn't care less though, as all I wanted to know was if Emma was alright. I raced to the wreck, and opened the guards van. The insides were scattered around, the right side of the wagon was partly ripped apart, and wood was everywhere. Emma however, was in an far worse situation: She was trapped under her table, wood had drilled itself into her arms, and blood was seeping out of the wounds. I helped her out and carried her to the station, where the station master gave me a first aid kit, to take care of the wounds, while he called an ambulance. I couldn't do much, and that much that I could do was not enough. The ambulance came soon enough, and brought her to the car. While she was carried out, she whispered to me 'take care of her. For me.'. She meant engine Nr. 7 of course, because she looked at her while she spoke. After that, she blacked out. She died later that day. It was said that her rips had cracked, and fractured her lungs and stomach. We all mourned the dead of her, and that day, I stayed an extra few hours after my shift was over to take care of Nr. 7. I polished the brass, cleaned the windows, and made her paintwork shine. I got back into the cab, and started to cry about the loss of my old friend. It was then that I heard the sound of somebody climbing into the cab. I got up, and turned around, just to nearly fall out of it in shock. In front of me stood Emma. She looked just like when she left us, but without the injuries, and she was slightly glowing. 'Don't be scared Lukas. It's me' she said lightly. 'B-but your dead!' I said in shock. 'That is true. I'm no longer on earth in a physical form, but my soul is still here, watching over you. And I will be always with you, by your side, as your partner.' She said, and dissolved into golden dust, which flew into the firebox. I was woken up by my brother later on. He found me, lying on the ground, completely past out. I explained him what had happened, but he simply said that I dreamed it. Afterwards, I never saw the ghost of Emma again, but I was sure that she was there, 'cause afterwards, my engine somehow reacted different. She always did something before I would do anything, and only worked fine when I drove her. I named her Emma, as an constant reminder of my old friend. But a few days ago, when we were coming from Orussia, I let Shirley drive Emma. She fell asleep, but we didn't crash. She woke up, the train had stopped, and a women sat on Emma's cowcatcher. She had the same description, so I'm sure it must have been Emma." Finished Lukas, while Yoshika had tears in her eyes.

"That's so sad. I'm sorry." She said.

"Why? It wasn't your fault, nor was it anyone else. It was that bloody fog, that blocked my view! *sigh* Tell you what: How about we make something to eat for the others? They should be hungry by now!" Said Lukas, making Yoshika's eyes shine again.

They soon were cooking what they could cook over the fire of the engine. Lukas took some food from the silo, and soon, they made a traditional Fusoan dish. It was soon getting dark, as Lukas got back into the cab, stocking the fire up one more time, so to keep the pipes from freezing. A look at the calendar made him laugh: 31st of December 1945.

"Heh, Happy new Year, old bastard. Let's hope that the next one will be better than this!" Chuckled Lukas, as he grabbed a beer from the compartment of the tender.

"Do you have another one?" Asked a voice, as Shirley sat next to him in the cab, getting a beer from Lukas.

"Well then, Happy new Year, Ms. Yeager." Said Lukas.

"Happy new Year, Mr. Romstein." Smiled Shirley.

"Heh yeah, Happy new Year..." Muttered Lukas one more time, and drank his bottle empty.

But what neither of them noticed, was the figure who slowly walked away from the wall of the silo, disappearing into the night.

 **Sooo, quick new chapter here! Seeing that no one gave a review, I guess you don't know who I'm talking about. Answer: It is the Olsen gang, a famous movie series, that is very popular in Denmark and here in Germany. The 'Laura' that I'm talking about was a small narrow gauge railway that ran from Weimar to Rastenberg, but was sadly ripped out for reparations after the war, and taken to Russia. Though some parts of the track and the buildings still remain, hopes are to eventually rebuild the line. The runaround station is the Weimar Berkaer Station, where the engines need to run around their trains, to continue down the branch line. The diamond crossing is where two rail links cross over each other. The crossing at the Berkaer Station is a little bit different, having switches connected to all rail links, so that a train can cross to every line that is connected.**


	15. Chapter 14

Over the next few days, the 501st made themselves combat ready. Lukas thought them more about the CQC, and gave them guns so that they could sharpen their aim. At the dawn of the third day, however, there was the sound of a car, pulling up to the silo. Lukas, who was playing night guard for the train and the girls, silently made his way around the silo, just to see Mr. Franke, getting out of his car.

"Morning sir, why are you here?" Asked the engineer.

"The morning newspaper. Here." He said, and gave the boy the page.

On it was a picture of three steam locomotives, crashing through a barricade that was placed onto the mainline, as police officers tried to shoot the people inside them. Underneath the picture was the article heading: _Kidnappers on the run_

"Three steam locomotives, two of Karlsland origin and one from Orussia, had crossed the borders in the early afternoon of the 2nd of January. The Karlsland locomotives, Nr. 52 8109 and 50 3626, are both part of the first independent Karlsland railway corps, who are cooperating with the 501st joint fighter wing. The police has made it clear, that the drivers of the locomotives, Alexander Tannenbaum and Tobias von Staufenberg, are trying to collect their culprits, as well as the Kaiser." Read the engineer.

"I already called through, and asked for the location. They were last seen passing through Dresden, but then they simply disappeared." Said Franke.  
"I know where they are." Smirked Lukas.

"Where?"  
"Wind mountain railway. Alex's brother works as a miner up there. Knowing him, he will take away the number plates of the engines, couple them up to an coal train, and bring the whole lot down here. I guess we should make ourselves ready for moving. Thank you for informing me." Said Lukas.

"No problem. But be careful. Yesterday, I had a man in my office, telling me that he saw a steam locomotive and a coach up here. I think he meant you. You need to leave soon." Said Franke sternly.

"Understood. We'll be moving to the yards, as soon as the coal train comes in."

"Do you have any idea who is in the Orussian engine?" Asked the station master.

"I don't know. Maybe someone still thinks we are innocent?" Suggested Lukas.

"Maybe... Stay save Romstein. We already lost enough good engineers to this war, we don't need to loose three more."

"Don't worry, we will." And with that, the two men parted ways.

Lukas quickly got to work, making a fire in his engine, and getting the girls up.

"Come on, come on! We need to move out in a few hours! Grab as much food from the warehouse so that we can survive at least 3 days on our own! Alex and Tobias are already in Karlsland!" Rushed Lukas.

"When do you think we will move?" Asked Minna.

"5, maybe 6 hours from now. Along with their engines is also a third locomotive from Orussia. I don't know who it is, but any backup is better than nothing." Said Lukas, and got back to his engine.

After 4 hours, the train was filled with supplies, and Emma was fit to run. Lukas was with the girls in the coach, going through the plan.

"Alright, this will probably the operation that will either make or break the this war. Once Alex and Tobias are here, we will run down to Bavaria, and straight to the Austrian border. That idiot in Berlin said somewhere in the alps, but not where exactly. Well, I have an idea to how we will get the information. I, Tobias and Alex will go and get ourselves captured, this 'organization' will probably go and get us, meaning that they will take us to their base; they know you are still out and about, so they want to know where you are, and they want to know it from us. Shirley, the tracking device we used when Barky and Erica where missing, can also pick up the signal from my radio. You need to use it, and get to the location where we are. Break in, wreck the place, and free the Kaiser, Girl and everyone else. Once, and only once after you got them, go and get us. The number one priority here is to free the VIP's, everything else is secondary. Are there any Questions?" Said the engineer.

No one said a thing.

"Good. In honor of this 'final mission' I'd like to call it 'Flight of the Phoenix', as, like the Phoenix in the legend, our name will rise from the ashes." He exclaimed, and got out a bottle, filling the content into some glasses.

"Let's make this mission count. Nobody fights alone." He said, raising his glass, and downing the content, just as a loud whistle echoed in the distance.

"We need to move, let's mo-" He started, just as the sounds of tires screeching and doors banging could be heard from outside the train.

"THIS IS THE POLICE! WE KNOW YOU ARE IN THERE, 501st JOINT FIGHTER WING! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS OVER YOUR HEADS AND THE KAISER UNHARMED, AND WE WON'T HARM YOU!" Came the loud voice of and police officer.

"Drat! That little swine Mr. Franke told me about! He called to cops!" Growled Lukas, and opened a window.  
"Stay inside. Minna! Go to the window and buy me some time! I go and get us out of here!" Said Lukas, and jumped out of the window.

Lukas sneaked to the cab, while Minna tried to explain what was actually going on, just to be laughed at from the police officers. Lukas silently got into the cab, and grabbed a smoke grenade from his weapon storage. He pulled the pin, and waited a few seconds, before grabbing the whistle cord, and throwing the grenade through the cab window.

"TAKE COVER! GRENADE!" Came the shout, and the officers scrambled, just as the grenade blew, creating a large smoke screen. Lukas quickly grabbed the regulator and let the engine move out of their hideout, the officers trying to stop them, but couldn't reach them, since the some was too thick. The train rushed into the yards, the signalman had only seconds to navigate them onto a siding, as the coal train slowed to an stop, while a man from the Orussian engine got to work on the couplings.

"Lukas!" Waved Alex from his engine.

"No time! Get ready, I'm coupling up!" Shouted the engineer, and got the engine to move again.

He quickly got onto the track of the coal train, and got his train lined up with the three other engines. Alex quickly coupled them up, and started to run back to his engines cab, as the police officers started to rush over the tracks of the yards.

"Let's get out of here!" Shouted Lukas to the engines behind him, opening the regulator, and letting the wheels spin.  
They slowly chuffed out, but some of the policemen got onto the Orussian engine, trying to reach the cab. But before they got there, they were tackled by two men in the cloths of the Orussian army. Lukas watched on, as the two men threw the cops off the tender, and quickly returning to their engines cab. Lukas let off a sight in relief that everything went so well, even though the cops nearly messed everything up.

After a little while, Lukas called Shirley to take over his place as engineer for a while, just so that he could check up with Alex and Tobias. He climbed over the tender and walked through the coach, and finally walked over the running plate of the Class 52, getting into the cab of the big engine.

"Glad to see that you two made it." Smiled Lukas.

"Yeah, with a few scratches and bruises that is." Chuckled Alex.

"What are we going to do now?" Asked the older engineer.

"Simple: Go to Bavaria, go to the baddies hideout, kill everyone, and get home in time for tea." Grinned Lukas.

"Sounds easy enough for me." Shrugged Alex.  
"Don't worry, it'll be alright. All we need to do when we get to Bavaria, is to start a real good fight, and get to attention of the police. After that, you simply need to do as I do, and we'll all going to get lunch with the Kaiser by the end of the week." Smirked Lukas, and got out of the cab, to Tobias' engine. After explaining the plan to him, he walked further down the train, to the last engine, and got inside as well, only to be greeted by a bunch of men. The two nearest to him, greeted him warmly.

"The sniper of the skies, today, we will fight together!" Laughed Reznov loudly.

"We know you didn't kidnap the Kaiser. We will help you in restoring your good name." Said Dimitri.  
"New Republiska needs to fight for themselves for a while. We won't let those fools get away with tampering with our fight club!" Laughed Bud and Terence.

"You guys are the best. But who are the others?" Asked Lukas, as 4 other men stood there, eyeing him closely.

"This, my dear comrade, is the 'Allied assault'. They are a special squadron from Britannia and Liberion, who were sent out to free the Kaiser." Explained Reznov.

"They came to get us, but after a good fight, we explained them what had actually happened, and now, they are fighting alongside us." Smirked Bud.

"Captain John Price. Special Air Service. Heard what you and those girls did for our planet. Good work, but for the guys you go up against, you will need our help." Said the eldest of the group, a strongly build man in his early 50s and large mustache, wielding a Thompson machine gun with drum magazine.

"Sergeant John McTavish. SAS. Will fight with you as a sniper." Said the second man in his early 30s, wielding a Lee Enfield sniper rifle.

"Charles Miller, Private First Class of the US Marine Corps." Saluted the young marine in standard green clothing, with an standard Thompson machine gun in his hands, and a radio on his back.

"What's with the radio, private?" Asked the engineer.

"We rerouted the signal. We can now listen to the enemies conversations." Explained the older man besides him.

"Sargent Donald Roebuck, US Marines." Saluted the man, wielding his Thompson, while a M1 Garand stuck out from his back.

Lukas looked at the men around him and sighted.  
"I thank you all for helping me and my friends out, but please remember that, as soon as we reach the closest city to the Austrian border, there will be no turning back."  
"My friend, we all lost family and friends in this war. We fight for the peace of this world, and wouldn't turn the opportunity down to help to end this war. We will fight alongside you, and if we need to, die too." Said Reznov, placing his hand on the younger mans shoulder.

"Thank you, all of you. Now, to the plan." Said Lukas, and explained his plan.

The unusual train raced down the main line, heading straightly south, towards the Austrian border. The surroundings soon turned from smooth hills and far field to thick forests and heavy gradients, telling the three engineers that they were nearing their goal. By early evening, the train slowed to an stop at a small country station. The station master was nowhere to be seen, so they used the opportunity to hide their train in the yards, dimming the lights so that they wouldn't be seen. Lukas gathered the small army in the coach.

"Alright, we'll execute phase one of the 'Flight of the Phoenix' tomorrow. Till then, you all should get a good head of sleep. I see you all tomorrow." And with that, he went to his engine.

He changed into his nightwear (his underwear) and grabbed a beer from his tender compartment, and sat back into his seat, thinking his whole plan through. He wanted to make sure that everything would go down as smoothly as it could, so that no one would die. But his train of thought derailed and crashed against a cliff side when he was suddenly grabbed from behind, letting his heart skip a beat. He grabbed whoever was behind her, and threw her onto his bed, making her completely immobile. Just then could he see that it was Shirley. He backed off quickly, so that she could get up.

"Dear lord you nearly gave me a heart attack there." He sighted.

"Yeah, and you nearly chocked me to dead." Retorted the Liberion witch.

"What do you want? I told you to go to slee-" But he was interrupted when Shirley locked her lips with him, silencing him successfully.

"Wha-?" He tried, but was stopped when Shirley placed her finger on his lips.

"Come on, let's get busy." She said, a seductive spark in her eyes, while Lukas' eyes grew wide.

"What?! You can't be serious! Why now?!" He asked.

"Like you said: This might be our last night on this earth, so let's make it one to remember." She smirked, and kissed the engineer again...

 **The next morning...**

Lukas woke up to the whistle of an early morning train. He tried to get up, but was held back by a pair of strong arms. He looked to his side, and saw Shirley, clambering to him, a smile on her face. Lukas smiled, and woke her up.

"Morning my little speed queen. We need to get dressed, before the others get up." He said, as Shirley released her grip, letting him get up. After they got dressed, they prepared breakfast for the others. After they finished the meal, Lukas went to the bar, and got out two special bottles, marked with 'only open in case of near death' and emptied them in several small glasses.

"In Karlsland, it's a tradition in the army to give out a special alcoholic drink called 'Schnapps' before the start of an large battle. But because some of you ain't allowed to drink yet, you all get a homemade lemonade." He said, and gave out the drinks.

"Well then, on your health, and that we all go through this without loosing anyone." Said Lukas, and downed his glass, the others doing so as well.

After they had their good luck drink, Lukas, Alex and Tobias made their way into town, to get their plan into motion. They decided to go to an local diner, drawing as much attention onto themselves as possible. When they got there, they simply waited. It wasn't long before the first few persons started to whisper to each other, and they could see how the waiter telephoned at the counter.

"Seems like the plans going pretty well." Whispered Alex.

"Yes. Just remember: do as I do, and we'll have the Kaiser on his chair by tomorrow afternoon." Whispered Lukas, just as the sound of an police car could be heard from outside, and two policemen rushed into the diner, their guns pointed at the three engineers.

"In the name of Kaiser Karl, you are arrested for kidnapping the Kaiser!" Stuttered one of them, while the three engineers just sat calmly there.

"Well, seams like they got us. Come on guys, better follow them." Said Lukas, and got up, the two cops shakily pointing their guns at the young captain.

"Hey ma'am! How about you give these two men here a cup of coffee, before they completely loose their nerves? We'll wait inside the car till you two come." And with that, the three men went outside, and into the back of the car.

"Shirley? Can you hear me?" Whispered Lukas into his radio.

"Yes, what is it?"  
"The 'Flight of the Phoenix' is in motion. We are currently inside a police car, while the two cops are drinking a coffee. They were so nervous, I thought they would've shot us right there and then! We'll be on the move soon. Activate the tracking device and once we stopped moving, go to that location but stay out of sight! Stay in an alleyway or something, just stay away from the open road, and don't pull any attention to yourself. Keep the tracking device on and once we move again, follow us. We'll either be on the way to the hideout of the 'organization', or on the way to prison. Follow us, and as soon as we get near an building, you stop, go back to the train and get the equipment. Take the engines with you, I'm pretty sure you'll need them for breaking into the building. Good luck." And with that, he ended the transmission.

 **One hour later...**

Shirley, Minna, Trude, Erica and Mio were hiding in an alleyway, a few houses away from the police station, where the three men were located. They waited for a 30 minutes now, but now, things started to pick up again. A black BMW came up at the front of the station, and out stepped Jürgen, followed by three of his comrades. Without any further delay, they walked inside, out of the view of the girls...

 **with Lukas...**

The three engineers sat, bored and lazy, inside their cell. That was, until the sound of steps got their attention. They watches how Jürgen came inside the cell, smirking at the beaten enemy.

"Well, well, well, look who escaped death yet again? You know, we could always use someone like you. Someone, who just can't accept his fate." Sneered the man.

"What? Do you think **I** of all people would join you?! Man, you might think you have won, but let me tell you this: this war **will** end soon, and it'll end with your death. I would rather die than join you and your scumbags." Growled Lukas.  
Jürgen scowled, and hit Lukas in the face, followed by an uppercut, with blood, spurting out of the young mans nose.  
"You'll come to your senses soon enough. As soon as we find your little girly friends. Johann, Gustav, Albrecht! Get these three into the car. We'll take them to Castle _Donnereck_ for 'special interrogation'." Said Jürgen, making the three men smirk darkly. The three men were taken to the car, and as soon as Jürgen returned, they set off.

 **Back with Shirley...**

"Look! There they are!" Said Trude, as the three men were escorted to the car.

"Looks like Lukas couldn't keep his mouth in check again..." Sighted Mio, noticing his bloody nose.

"Let's get ready, but keep space between us. We can't risk them noticing us." Said Minna, getting into the car Lukas 'borrowed' from the stations parking lot.

They followed the car through the city, and into the Bavarian Alps, till they could see a big castle, halfway up a mountain, a bit more than a mile away.

"That must be the place! Let's go back and get the others!" Said Erica, as Shirley braked, and turned around, heading back the way they came from. Unknown by them, they were watched by an lookout at the castle.

"Steffen! Call _Oberst_ Meinheim and tell him we got an unknown vehicle, heading back towards Passau." Said the lookout, as he watched the car disappearing around a curve.

They soon reached the little station, that was on the outskirts of Passau, and got the others. Reznov, Dimitri and Miller got the engines ready, but they had a tough time, as the engines wouldn't really respond to anything the men did.  
"I just don't understand this! They worked perfectly well all the way from Orussia, and when we need them the most, they just won't respond!" Grumbled Reznov.

"If we can't get them ready in the next... 10 minutes, we need to go without them." Sighted Minna.

Yoshika pondered, thinking back to the time when Lukas told her about Emma, and the ghost he saw in the engine shed.

"Maybe he **did** saw her that night..." She muttered.

"What did you say?" Asked Lyne.

"Lukas told me that the engine is possessed by the ghost of Emma, his childhood friend, and that the engine wouldn't cooperate if anyone other than Lukas would drive her." Explained the young witch.

"Could this really be the answer? A ghost that is possessing the engine?" Scoffed Trude.

"I don't know. But it is worth a try." Yoshika said, and went to the cab of the engine.

She got inside, and just stood in front of the firebox door, the fire inside it burning bright orange.

"Okay, here it goes." She muttered.

"Emma? I know you are here. Lukas told me everything that happened. Please, just this once, please work with Mr. Miller. We need you and the other engines for the mission. Lukas, Alex and Tobias are in the castle, as well as the Kaiser of Karlsland, the prime minister of Britannian, the president of Liberion and Girl! We need your help to get them out of there! Please help us." She said, and waited.

Then, from the firebox came a whirlwind of gold dust, that transformed into the shape of an young girl in an Karlsland railway uniform, and golden hair, that was covered by an Karlsland railway hat.

"Is, is what you said true?" She asked, slightly shocked.

"Yes, it is. And without your help, the chances that we can get them out of there is very low." She said, amazed that she was talking to an ghost.

"Alright. I will help you. Get the three men here and tell them to simply guard the engines, we'll do the driving." She said, with determination.

"Wait! Who is we?!"  
"Karla and Maria, they are the ghosts of Alex and Tobias' engines. We are the guardian angels of our engineers." Smiled Emma, as she sat into the seat of Lukas' engine.

Yoshika went back to the others, and told them what had happened.

"So, those three girls basically possessed the engines, and are guarding the three engineers?" Asked Trude, still stunned about having three ghosts in their team now.

"Yes. Emma said that Mr. Miller, Mr. Reznov and Mr. Petrenko should guard the engines, and they will take over the driving." Said Miyafuji.

"Sounds good to me. I've never rode a train driven by a ghost before." Chuckled Dimitri.

"Okay then. Get on board your engines and get ready. We will go as soon as the engines can move." Said Minna, as they went to their Strikers.

Viktor, Dimitri and Charles climbed aboard their respective engines (Viktor in 50 3626, Dimitri in 52 8109 and Charles in Nr. 8) and saw three women, sitting in the drivers seat.  
"Good, your here. Get your guns ready and make sure we don't take too much damage. We'll take over the driving." The women said, as the men nodded, and stood guard on the tender.

"A long time since we really drove our engines, right girls?" Came the voice of Emma over the radio.

"Quite right my dear. Let's make our men proud, and get them out of the hell they drove themselves in." Said Karla.

"Fine with me. I just hope they haven't already wrecked the place, so that we still got something to do." Smirked Maria.

"Minna, will you give us the honor?" Asked Emma, as she leaned out of the cab, talking to the Strike Witches that already hovered next to the three engines.

"Strike Witches! Commence attack!" Shouted Minna, and with the blast of three steam whistles, the witches and the engines departed, in the direction of the castle.  
But what they couldn't know was that a pair of eyes was following them, in his hand the receiver of a telephone.

" _Da,_ they are heading southeast, towards the Austrian border. How long until you reach the border? Good, I'll see you at castle _Donnereck_." Said the man, watching the squadron getting smaller and smaller, until they disappeared from his view.

"Good luck 501st Joint Fighter Wing. You'll need it."

 **Well, you could've guessed I would bring in the Rest of the CoD World at War cast somewhere down the line. I guess I should owe you an explanation about why there are two more ghost, possessing Alex and Tobias' engines. Well, Tobias and Alex were married to Karla and Maria. But on their honeymoon journey, their train, the Orient Express, was derailed by an psychopath with the obsession of derailing trains. While they survived with some broken bones, and some major flesh wounds, Karla and Maria died in the accident. When they died, they were only 23 years old... They are twin sisters, with brunette hair, dark green eyes and both wore yellow and white dresses when they died. They possessed the engines shortly after the outbreak of the war, but only reviled themselves to Alex and Tobias when the engines were rebuild with Striker units. For those of you who are a little disappointed about the lack of any 'action' between Lukas and Shirley, I rated the story M for dead and violence, not sex. But, I'm working on some 'steamy' (pardon the pun) story to fill in what happened that night in Orussia and here. It might be a bid bad, seeing that I have no experience in writing such stories, but at least it is something. If anyone wants to help me write those chapters, feel free do PM me.**


	16. Chapter 15

While the girls were heading towards the castle, Lukas, Alex and Tobias had a brutal time in the 'interrogating' chambers of the castle. All three of them had cuts and bruises all over their bodies, Lukas glasses were cracked, and their clothes were torn. But still, they wouldn't talk a bit. After a while, Jürgen had enough, and ordered the men to stop.

"Hope you enjoyed your first time, because you'll go through the same thing tomorrow." Smirked the blond men, as his lackeys brought them to the dungeons.

They were locked into what seamed to be an empty cell, but they were soon proven wrong, as a voice got their attention.

"Lukas? Is that you?"  
The three men turned around, to see Rommel, standing up from his bed, smiling a weak smile as he saw the young man.

"So they got you after all huh?"  
"Not completely. This is all part of the plan." Smirked the engineer, and told the general the plan.

"And you think they can get us out, on their own?"  
"I know they will, and we will help them. We just need to wait till phase two gets into motion." Said the young captain, just as he alarm sounded.

"They are quick. Alex, Tobias, trick 6, now." Said Lukas, and got to the ground, starting to wheeze.

"GUARD! GUARD! GET YOUR LAZY ASS OVER HERE!" Shouted Alex.

"Alone for that I could kill you on the spot you know. What is it?" Growled the guard.

"Can't you see? He's dying man! He swallowed something, and now he can't breathe!" Explained Alex.

The guard went inside the cell, and picked the wheezing man up. Lukas quickly elbowed him in the rips, and hitting him hard on the head. The guard tumbled to the ground, knocked out cold.  
"Alright, let's get a move on. The girls will surely need our help, especially if they took the engines with them." Said Lukas, picking up to Luger of the guard and some ammo for it.  
They sneaked up to the other guard that was sitting at the table. Alex got behind him, while Tobias came up from the front. The guard didn't noticed it, he was too busy reading his book, that was, until Tobias pulled the book away from him.

"Herbert, for the last time, stop taking my boo-" He began, but stopped when he saw the man in front of him.

"Lights out." Smirked Tobias, as Alex snapped the guards neck.

"Alright, that's two Lugers for us, against a base filled with enemies. A bit unfair, don't you think?" Asked Rommel.

"Yeah, we got better chances. Let's free the others. Rommel, do you know where they are?" Asked Lukas.

"Churchill, Eisenhower and the other generals are all here, but the girl was taken to the leaders of the organization." Said Rommel.

"Alright, Tobias, Alex, take one of the Lugers with you and free Churchill and the rest, Rommel and I will go and get girl. Pick up any weapon you find on the way." Ordered Romstein, and raced off with Rommel.

 **10 minutes earlier, around 5km from the base...**

"Alright, here is the plan: Mio already looked ahead and saw the castles exterior. There are a few AA batteries on the castle towers, and a load of soldiers there. Emma, you and the others give Air support. Take out the batteries; we will go in after you finished your first volley. We'll use the shotguns and the MP's Lukas has stored. McTavish and Price have already taken position in the forest. They will give sniping support for the time being, and will join up with us in the castle, together with Bud and Terence. Expect heavy resistance, and always guard your partners back." Said Minna, while they hovered in the air.

The three engines started off, the witches following them with a little distance in between them. Emma, Karla and Maria aimed the guns of the engines at the first batteries, and started to fire. The batteries blew up one after the other, soldiers were firing with their guns, but were picked off by Miller, Roebuck (who was with Miller on Lukas' engine), Reznov, Petrenko, 'Soap' and Prize. A few minutes later, the Witches flew in, armed with the guns from the train: Minna and Erica were wielding MP 40s, while Trude carried one of her MG 42s. Mio and Yoshika were both armed with Type 100 submachine guns, Lynette was equipped with the Lee Enfield rifle, and Perrine was carrying her Bren submachine gun. Eila and Sanya both got sawed-off shotguns, one of it wielding the name 'Boomstick'. Shirley stuck to her BAR, but Lucchini got a Thompson machine gun. Shirley also took Lukas' M1903 and M1917 with her, so that he could fight with them, once he was free. They landed, and quickly jumped out of their Strikers, hiding behind some debris from the castle wall. No sooner where they behind the wall, the first few soldiers came out of the castle, starting to fire at the girls. Trude readied her MG, and fired a barge of bullets at the soldiers, taking a few of them out. Minna, Mio, Erica and Shirley joined in, and took the rest of them out. Once no more soldiers came out, they went inside.

They hurried through the building, killing off every soldier along the way. They were coming up to an staircase, when the crashed into Alex and Tobias.

"You broke out?" Asked Minna.

"Yeah, and we got the others as well. Lukas and Rommel are running after the leaders of this hell." Said Alex.

"Get the others out of here, and take position on your engines again. Send Reznov and Petrenko in and tell them to get to the leader quarters." Ordered Minna, as Alex, Tobias and the VIP's rushed towards the front door.

 **Back with Lukas...**

Lukas and Rommel had fought their way to the top floor, picking up an MP 40 and an STG 44 on the way. They now stood in front of an large double door, with the word 'Command' above it.

"Well, looks like this is it. You ready, old friend?" Asked Lukas.

"Ready to restore peace? Always." Smiled Rommel, as they both kicked the doors down, guns on point, ready to fire.  
They were surprised however, when they only found a dark room, with an large, round table in the middle. On the other side of the table sat three men, one of them was Jürgen.

"I see you got here after all. Not bad, for an engineer and an clapped out general." Smirked Jürgen.

"Enough, Jürgen. Gentlemen, welcome to Castle _Donnereck_. A forward base of the 'economy assistant' group. We made it our goal, to help the worlds economy grow. With this war, the advances in the weaponry and medical industry are undoubtedly at its peak. We are here to make sure it stays that way, and for that, your little peace contract was in our way, that's why we took hold of your Neuroi friend." Said the man in the middle, a elderly man with a bald head and burn marks on the left side of his face.  
"You let innocent people fight against the Neuroi, you let them die at the front, and all that just so that you can build some new bloody weapons?! Your are insane! These people want to live in peace, as well as the Neuroi! We'll stop you, even if we need to go with you! But I doubt it will go that far! Now, where is Girl?! Hand her over, and we think about not ripping our wrinkled old arses open." Growled Lukas, disgusted about the people that sat in front of him.

"She isn't here. We took her to our main base, on the Sudrian isles." Smirked the third man.

Then, a light went up in Lukas' head.

"I've seen you before. You are Trevor Maloney! You bastard! You are working together with these swines! Let me guess, the escapade with the Neuroi back in 1944 was just like now, wasn't it?!" Growled Lukas.

"Of course it was. And now that you know everything, we _sadly_ need to get rid of you. Stasse, if you would be so kind and show these two your little project?" Smirked Maloney, as Strasse pressed a button on the table, and from the floor came a machine. It looked like it was a metallic person, but without a head. Jürgen climbed into the machine, and it roared to life.

"This, is my _Supersoldat_. It can destroy whole **armies** in the matter of minutes. And now, Jürgen will use it to take care of you. Jürgen! Destroy them!" Shouted Strasse, turning away with Maloney towards an door, as the metal monster began to move.

"Rommel, we should probably start firing now." Gulped Lukas, aiming his MP 40.

"Good idea." Said the general, and opened fire.

 **Back with the witches...**

The girls were fighting their way up the stairs, since the soldiers of the 'economy assistant' tried to fight them off, but while they were having more men and supplies, the girls had many years of fighting experience, and knew how to handle such situations. They finally reached the top floor, when they saw how a big hole was shot into the wall to their left. They looked inside, and saw how Lukas and Rommel were fighting against a metal robot.

"Lukas!" Shouted Shirley, drawing his attention.

"Stay back! It's too dangerous! That thing is a living bomb!" Shouted Lukas, jumping out of harms way as Jürgen shot jet another grenade at them.

"I'm not going to leave you here along Romstein!" Shouted Shirley back, and opened fire at the robot.

"You are just too stubborn, you know that!" Grumbled the engineer back, firing another salve of his MP, just to ran out of ammo.

"I know! That's why you love me that much!" Laughed Shirley, throwing him his M1903 and M1917 over.

"You just love to be right every thing. Thanks for the fire power!" Shouted the engineer, loading his special ammo.

"You know Jürgen, your Strasse or what his name was, might have been good in designing those robots! But he forgot one thing! He forgot that I build anti armor bullets." He smirked, and pulled the trigger, letting the bullet fly through the armor of the robot, and hit directly into the shell storage, detonating the shells inside it.

There was an almighty explosion, that went through the whole castle. The force of the explosion was so big, that the part of the castle where they were started to collapse.

"WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Shouted Mio.

"WHERE ARE LUKAS AND ROMMEL?!" Shouted Trude.

"I DON'T KNOW! MAYBE THE FORCE OF THE EXPLOSION THREW THEM OUT OF THE BUILDING!" Suggested Erica.

"HOW ABOUT WE GET TO SAFETY FIRST, THEN DISCUSS WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?!" Said Minna, as they sprinted down the stairs.

The walls and room collapsed around them as they hurried down the halls. They meet up with Reznov and Petrenko along the way, and they all raced towards the exit. With a final dash, they jumped out of the door, letting it collapse behind them.

"Close call that was." Panted Yoshika.  
"Where is Lukas?" Asked Alex, who had landed his engine, as had Tobias and Emma did with theirs.  
"He fired a anti-armor bullet at that robot. He hit the shell storage and the explosion destroyed the building. We don't know where he is." Said Minna sadly.

"D-does that mean hes dead?" Stuttered Emma.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know..." Said Mio.

They stood there for quite some time, till Tobias lifted his hat, Alex following suit.

"We must all salute a brave engineer, who fought and worked his hardest, and always put the liv1es of his friends and family first. We should never forget him, and what he did today. May he rest in peace." Said Tobias, with tears in his eyes.

The others were starting to sob by now, but their attention was drawn to the debris of the building, as it was shaking lightly.  
"It can't be him, can it?" Asked Shirley.

Just then, some of the bricks were thrown away, and a large column of dust came out of the hole. Their faces turned from sad to happy in an blink of an eye, but that was quickly stopped, when a gun came out of the column, followed by Jürgen, his clothes ripped and torn, wounds everywhere along his body, and blood, running down his forehead. He had a large smirk on his face, and a crazed look in his eyes as he limped over to them.

"Thought I was gone did you? Well, too bad! I'm still alive, and your great little bastard of an hero is dead! He didn't skipped death this time! And now, you all will join him, starting with his little slut of an girlfriend." Sneered the man, aiming at Shirley.

He was just about to pull the trigger, when he was tackled to the ground by an dark blue and red blur. They watched with amazement, as Lukas beat the crazy man over and over again. When he was sure he had enough, he got up, ripping off a piece of his jacket.

"You got blood on my face." He sneered, wiping his face off with the piece.

He turned back to the others, seeing them look at him with awe.

"What? Do I still have blood on my face?" He asked.

"N-no, it's just-" Began Emma.

"It's not usual to see someone who was just in an explosion, tackling an armed psychopath and beating him half to death!" Said Trude.

"How did you survive that blast?!" Asked Mio.

"That room had some pretty stable chairs. We could jump behind them just before the Shells went off. We still were blown into the water trench though. If Soap and Price hadn't fished us out, that bastard surely would've killed Shirley, and probably not just her!" Chuckled Lukas.

"But where is General Rommel?" Asked Kaiser Karl.

"I'm here sir!" Said Rommel, who was brought in my Soap and Price.

"He landed on a rock when we hit the water, looks like he broke both legs." Said Price.

"We will fix you up as soon as we are in Berlin. But what about that Neuroi that was taken along with us? Why is she still missing?" Asked Eisenhower.

"They took her to the Sudrian isles, to their main base, they said." Explained Lukas.

"Then we need to get her out of there!" Said the Kaiser.  
"All in good time, my Kaiser. First, we need to bring you back to Berlin. Over the time you were missing, these arseholes framed us in kidnapping you, and we are still at the top of the states wanted list. Also, we should all take a few hours so we could rest; some of us are wounded, and we are low equipped." Said Lukas sternly.

"I see. Worry not, my good engineer. I will make sure your name and the name of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing will be cleaned in no time. Also, and I think both Winston and Dwight will agree with me, we will give the mission of rescuing the Neuroi girl and return her safely to Berlin." Said the Kaiser grandly.

"Minna, what do you say? You still are the commanding officer of the 501st after all." Smiled Lukas.

"It will be our honor to execute this mission." Beamed Minna with pride.

"Very well then! Let's get to Berlin then!" Said the Kaiser, and walked to the coach.

"Sir! May I ask something?"  
"Yes, Mr. Romstein, what is it?"  
"I would like to ask if the 'Allied Assault' could assist us in this mission."  
"Who is the 'Allied Assault'?"  
"They are the best of the best. An elite fighting squadron of the best soldiers that are fighting. Viktor Reznov, Dimitri Petrenko of the imperial Orussian army, John McTavish, John Price of the Special Air Service and Charles Miller and Donald Roebuck of the United States Marine Corps." Explained Lukas, as the men stepped forward.

"Very well then, you six shall assist the 501st in any way you can. That is an direct order from the Kaiser." Said Karl.

"Yes sir!" Saluted the 'Allied Assault'.

"Good, now, let's go home." Smiled the Kaiser, as he and the others boarded the coach, with two of his generals bringing the knocked out Jürgen into the wagon as well.

"Witches! You heard the man! We have a new mission, and it might end this war as well!" Said Minna.

"But first, let's go and clean our names!" Said Lukas, and climbed aboard his engine, his fellow engineers following suit, with the 'Allied Assault' climbing into the two Karlsland engines.

Lukas sat himself back into his seat, and smiled, feeling the familiar heat of the boiler again, and hearing the sounds of the engine as it was back under his control.

"We were worried, you know." Came a voice, and he looked to the fireman's side, to see Emma, sitting on his bed.

"I'm sorry Emma. It's good to see you again." Smiled the engineer softly.

"You haven't changed a bit, even thought it has been 6 years now." Said the ghost softly.

"You say that as if you haven't seen me over the time you were the guardian of the engine." Said the engineer.

"You kept your promise, I thank you for that." Smiled Emma.

"I always keep my promise, you know that! … The sheds were awfully quiet after you were gone, you know? We missed you very much."  
"But you moved on. I saw it."  
"Yes... Shirley, she-"  
"You don't need to explain yourself. I see you are happy, and that's all I wanted- that you are happy." Smiled the ghost, just as the sound of someone coming into the cab interrupted them.

Lukas turned around, to see Shirley, stepping into the small wooden cabin. When she saw Lukas, she rushed to him, and hugged him tightly.

"You big old idiot! What have I told you?! You should never do such stupid stuff like this again!" She sobbed, tears running down her face.

"Shhhhh, don't cry my little speedster. Your face is too pretty for it to be drenched in tears. You know I would never do such stupid stuff, if it wasn't for a reason, right? I did it to protect those, who I love, and care for. I could never forgive me if something would happen to you, even though I could've prevented it. Now please stop crying, and give me a smile. Come on, just a little smile." Said Lukas, looking her deeply in the eyes. She tried to look away from him, but she couldn't quite help it and shortly looked into his eyes, cracking a small smile.  
"There we go! Now, let's go back to Berlin! We had such a short time the last time we were there I had no time to show you guys around!" Smiled Lukas, and got back to his seat.

Shirley smiled, and started to go back outside.

"Hey."  
"Yes?"  
"Thank you. For helping us out back then." Said Lukas, making the Liberion witch smile.

"No problem." Said the witch, and started off again.

Meanwhile, back at the castle, a convoy of three trucks rolled up to the rests of the building, where a man was already waiting.

"I see their mission was a success?" Said a woman.

" _Da_. They secured the VIP's and left 10 minutes ago. They are on their way to Berlin." Said the man.

"Thank you Vlad. We'll go there as well. You go and contact the Czar. Tell him they are alright."

" _Da_ , Grand duchess."

 **Well, I had a good day, and around 5 red bull throughout the day, so I could write a whole new chapter today! I planted some movie references as** **well as another video game character in because I honestly couldn't come up with another new name :P Anyways, thanks for ready, and if you have the time, leave a review**


	17. Chapter 16

The three locomotives soon landed at the small country station again, and after coupling up to the Orussian engine, they all started the long run home. It was fairly quiet along the way, until they passed Apolda. The first thing Lukas noticed was that the platform was unusually empty, with only some police officers on them. He shrugged it off, but couldn't quite help himself to wonder why they didn't open fire on the train.

'Maybe they stopped looking for us? We **were** captured by those Bavarian cops in the morning after all... Meh, better stop worrying, home is coming up.' Thought the engineer, as the curve towards his home village came into view.

But as he neared the bridge, he noticed a whole bunch of police officers, watching the train, some of them armed with kar98k sniper rifles. It was then that he realized what was going on.

"ALEX! TOBIAS! REZNOV! PULL THE BRAKES! QUICK!" Shouted the engineer over the intercom, closing the regulator and pulling the brakes hard on. Gunshots rang out as the snipers on the bridge tried to shot the engineers. The wheels screeched as the train slid over the rails, rounding the bend, and stopping in the station platform.  
"Are you insane?! You can't pull such a stunt off with the Kaiser on board!" Shouted Alex, as he and Tobias came up to the cab.

"We would be dead if we didn't! Look at the tracks!" Retorted the young captain, pointing at the rails in front of them.

The two older engineers looked on, seeing how a piece of track had been pulled out of the ground.

"There were some cops on the platform in Apolda. They probably phoned ahead so that they could pull the rail here." Explained Lukas, as the Kaiser and Eisenhower came up.

"What's holding us up?" Asked 'Ike'.

Just then, a police squad came out of the bushes around the station, pointing their guns at the engineers.

"Freeze! Lukas Romstein, Alexander Tannenbaum, Tobias von Staufenberg! You three are under arrest for high treason against the Kaiserreich of Karlsland, kidnapping of 25 very important generals of the Karlsland army, as well as kidnapping of his majesty the Kaiser, the premier minister of Britannian, and the supreme commander of the allied army!" Said one of the police men.

"Sergeant! Put those guns down at once!" Order the kaiser.

"Sir?! But they kidnapped you!"  
"These three engineers, as well as the 501st joint fighter wing, had helped in rescuing me from a dangerous criminal organization! If anything, I should order that the whole police of Karlsland should be arrested for trying to prevent them in rescuing us!" Boomed Karl, as the color was washed out of the faces of the police officers.

"Now, if you would be so kind and put that rail back? We need to get going, if we want to reach Berlin before midnight." Said Lukas.

"Y-yes, of course! Corporal! Put that rail back on the double!" Stuttered the Sergeant, as the officers got to work.

"I think that has scared them a bit." Chuckled Tobias.

"Thank you for taking care of them." Said Lukas.  
"It was nothing! But I hope there won't be any further difficulties along the way." Said the kaiser concerned.

"Hm... How about we stop in Weimar for a brief minute, and begin to clear the whole situation up? 'Cause I think these knuckleheads aren't the only ones that would try something like this." Suggested Alex.

"Good idea." Smiled Lukas, and started to walk to his cab again, as the officers were finishing their work.

"How about you get aboard again? I just thought of something..." Said Lukas, as he walked to the station building.

He went inside, and found that the whole building was deserted of life.

'Hm... they must've send him home, when they prepared their little trap. Too bad.' Thought the engineer, as he went inside the station masters office.

He quickly wrote a note, placed it on the desk of Mr. _Störing_ , and made his way back to his engine.

"Nice work Sergeant! You should consider a change in carrier! Railworkers are highly demanded right now!" Shouted the engineer cheekily, as the train departed.

After they made their short stop in Weimar, they continued on towards Berlin. It was very late when they started to enter the outskirts of Berlin. Most of the men and witches inside the coach already went to sleep, and the engineers were getting sleepy too. But that quickly went away when they passed columns of steam locomotives, all lined up along the track they were running on, whistling them on, the engineers and firemen inside them cheering them on.  
"What the hell is going on?!" Pondered Lukas, but that wasn't all.

When they neared the Anhalter station, there waiting for them was a mass of people, waving flags and cheering loudly, as the train slowly stopped at the platform.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we reached Berlin Anhalter Station. And it looks like they were expecting us." Said Lukas over the intercom.

"Good, Mathias got my message then." Smiled the kaiser.

"Wait, you knew of this Karl?!" Asked Churchill.

"Of course! Mathias can't keep a secret. I wouldn't have expected anything less than this! It's good to be home!" Smirked the kaiser as he stepped out of the wagon, where a group of guards have already formed a row to a pedestal.

"My fellow Karlslander! I'm am happy to be back with you! As you might know, I was kidnapped, five days ago. But! It wasn't the 501st joint fighter wing that abducted me! No, they were the ones that saved me! And for this, I will forever be in their debt. Now, if they would be so kind to come up here?" Asked Karl, winking them to him.

"My friends! For rescuing, not only me, but also the leaders of the free world, as well as some of the most important generals of the Karlsland military, I hereby present you all with the _Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern._ " Said Karl grandly, and presented each of them with the award.

"Not bad for a days work, aye?" Chuckled Lukas, but was hushed by Trude, Tobias and Alex.

"Alright, Alright! Sheesh! Trying to make a joke around her without getting grilled..." Muttered the engineer.

"How about we go to bed now? It **is** nearly midnight after all." Suggested Lukas, pointing at the station clock.

"Quite right. I'll see you all tomorrow morning at my residence. You too, Winston, Dwight." Said Karl, and started to walk away.

" _Ach ja_ , you will spend the night at the station hotel of course. On my cost." Added the kaiser, and made his way to his car.

"Alright girls, you heard the kaiser! Get your stuff and go to the hotel! Shirley! Tell the guy at the reception to give the girls the best rooms, and us two a two person room." Smirked Romstein, as he got back to his engine.

After bringing the engines to the sheds, and making sure that none of the 'economy assistant' supporters were there to knock them out or sabotage their engines, the engineers made their way to the hotel as well. 

**The next day...**

"Well, that kaiser sure knows how to live." Whistled Shirley, as they walked into the kaisers residence.

The residence itself was already big, with an even bigger garden behind it, but the inside were even better: the walls were painted plain white, with statues and pictures along them. The floor was made up from white marble, with an red carpet on it. They soon reached the meeting room, where Karl, Dwight, Winston and the 'Allied Assault' were already waiting.

"Good, your all here. Now, we ordered you here, so we could discuss how to get our Neuroi friend back from the enemy." Said Karl.

"What do we know about the Sudrian isles?" Asked Donald.

"They are a group of two isles, between the isle of man and the Britannian. While the biggest of the two is connected with mainland Britannian via a railway bridge, the smaller one is only accessible via ferry." Said Churchill.

"Are there any major military bases?" Asked Reznov.

"No. They were mostly forgotten in the war; there were only a few Neuroi attacks over the course of the war.

"Hm, isolated and mostly left alone. A perfect place for someone to build a major stronghold without anyone noticing..." Muttered 'Ike'.

"I've been to the Sudrian isles once. The bigger one, Sodor I think the name was, has quite a large rail network. But the northern part of the island is pretty much cut off. If they wanted to build a large base, they would've choose to build it there." Said Lukas.

"I think a direct attack would be too risky. We don't know too much of the area, and if they really had the time to build a large base there, they probably had more than enough time to get accustom with the surroundings. I say we go in undercover, storing most of the equipment at nearest connection to the island, and once we found them, we'll make up a plan on how to break in." Suggested Winston.

"Sounds good enough to me." Said Lukas.  
"I'm okay with it." Said Miller.

"We're alright with it too." Said Minna.

"Then it's settled. Once you have stocked up on resources, you will go directly to Sodor." Said Karl, just as there came a knock from the door, and a elderly butler came in.

"What is it, Mathias?"  
"I'm sorry sir, but there is someone who wants to speak with the 501st joint fighter wing." Said the man, and stepped aside, making space for someone to step forward.

"Anastasia?!" Asked the 501st JFW  
"Grand duchess!" Jumped both Reznov and Petrenko, shocked to see the grand duchess of Orussia.

"Hello my friends. It's been a while." She smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Yoshika.

"I came with some extra supplies, to help you out. I send sergeant Reznov and private Petrenko after you, to make sure you are alright. I see they did good work." Said Anastasia.

"Indeed they did." Chuckled Lukas.

"But also, I've come with bad news as well. New Republiska has fallen under the Bolsheviks. As it appears, they are lead by Stalin's son now, and are trying to finish what they started back in 1917: destroy the Romanov family." Said the grand duchess.

"Great, so we need to fight against a warcrazed bunch of nitwits in the west, and against the Bolsheviks in the east again. Seams like works end is still a loooong way away from us." Sighted Lukas, with Alex and Tobias joining in.  
"But we can't be on both fronts at once! Where should we start?" Asked Trude.

"Two fronts at once aye...? Why not?" Said Price.

"Huh? What do you mean?"  
"Well, how about we go and take care of the Bolsheviks while you take care of those warheads?" Answered the older captain.

"Hmm, sounds good to me, but you should have some back up as well... Bud, Terence! You two shall accompany them, and make sure that they come home in one piece ya hear!" Ordered the the younger captain.

"Si" came the reply from the two Venician men.

"Good. We shall leave in 4 hours from the Anhalter Station. Make sure you are ready for departure by then. The commando for the group to Orussia has captain Price. Any questions?" Asked Minna.

Her question was answered with silence.

" _Gut._ Mathias, show them the way to the royal military base. You will need some ammunition for your trip." Said Karl.

" _Jawohl_ , your highness." Said the elderly Butler, as he lead the group out of the conference room.

After they got the directions, they walked to the large base that was set up a few hundred meters away from the resident. They were halted for a few seconds at the gates, but when they saw who they really were, they were promptly granted access. They were brought to an small hall, where they should wait. A few minutes later, a man in his mid 40s came into the hall, saluting as he stood in front of the group.

" _Feldwebel_ Klaus Maffei, reporting for duty! It is an honor to have the heroes of Karlsland at our humble base!" He said.

"At ease _Feldwebel_. We were sent here by order of the Kaiser to get ammunition and equipment for our mission." Said Minna.

"I see. Follow me then, I'll bring you to our magazine." Said Klaus, as he lead the group out of the hall.  
After a short walk, they reached a large building. They entered, and were greeted by the sight of guns and crates filled with bullets of all kinds. Further at the back were _Panzerfäuste_ and _Panzerschrecks_ , with the fitting rockets for them.

"Please, search what you need. If you have any questions, the guard on duty should be in the office over there-" he pointed to an small door, on which the word ' _Büro_ ' stood. "- I will be with the recruits. _Einen schönen Tag noch_." Smiled Klaus, as he left the building.

"Well then, let's go _shopping_." Smirked Lukas, as he walked to one of the boxes.

While they refilled their weapons and webbing's, some of them changed weapons too. Both Barkhorn and Hartmann grabbed some new MG 42's, as well as changing their MP40s for StG 44s. Lukas grabbed a _Sturmgewehr_ as well, just to have something for backup. McTavish changed his Lee Enfield for a Kar98k with scope, Terence grabbed one as well, and Bud went for an MG34. After they each grabbed some grenades as well, they made their way to the train station, to store the weapons in the trains.

When the time came, both groups climbed aboard their respective trains: the Sudrian group went aboard Lukas' train, while the Orussian group climbed into the train pulled by the Orussian engine.

"Good luck Reznov! And give those bastards hell!" Shouted Lukas, as their trains departed.

"Don't worry comrade! Nobody messes with motherland Orussia, or their people, as long as Dimitri and I are still fighting!" Shouted Reznov back.

The trains then went their separate ways, with the 501st going towards Calais, and the 'Allied Assault' heading for Moscow.

 **2 days later, Barrow-in-Furness railway station, 1130 hours**

The 501st stood at the station platform, waiting for the passenger train towards Sodor. They had stored the train in an remote part of the yard in the early hours of the day, and had already made some investigations about the 'economy assistants', but so far, they hadn't really found anything of interest, only that there was a slight rise in the goods transportation on the Tidmouth-Arlesburgh that had occurred a few months ago.

"So, anything we should know once we're on Sodor?" Asked Trude.

"Not really. The people there are mostly peaceful. It's almost as if they don't know the words 'war' or 'fight'. At least, that was the case the last time I was there. I just hope the drivers of the engines still are the same; they are the only people I know over there..." Said Lukas, as the loudspeaker on the platform perked up.

"Arriving on Platform 2 is the 11.30 Express from Knapford." Came the announcement, as a cyan blue LNER A1 pacific glided into the station, pulling 6 LMS express coaches painted in brown with yellow lining.

"Well, that's our train girls." Smiled Lukas, a wave of nostalgia hitting him as he saw the train.

They climbed aboard and got seated. Because the coaches only had compartments for 6 people, they split into groups: Minna, Mio, Trude, Erica, Shirley and Lukas went into the first compartment, Eila, Sanya, Yoshika, Lynette, Perrine and Francesca went into the second (with much arguing from Francesca) and Alex and Tobias went into the third one. After nearly a quarter of an hour, the train finally started to move. When they started to cross a bridge, a voice came over the intercom.

"Good day ladies and gentlemen, this is your driver Gordon Gresley speaking, we will reach Crovan's Gate in about 30 minutes." Came the voice, as a smirk came over Lukas' face.

"I guess you know him." Smiled Shirley.

"Ever since he started on the North Western, together with his two buddies James and Henry. Oh boy, he'll be in for something once we reach Knapford." Chuckled the engineer, as the coach went suddenly dark.

"What's happening?" Asked Trude.

"Hold your horsepower Barky, it's just Henry's tunnel." Came Lukas' voice.

"Why is it called Henry's tunnel?" There was no reply.

"Lukas? Are you still here?" Still no reply.

The train went out of the tunnel again, and they could see why the engineer wasn't replying: he was in the middle of a make out session with Shirley, both had their eyes closed, so they couldn't see that they were out of the tunnel again. It was only when Lukas opened his eyes for a split second that he noticed that all eyes in the compartment were on him. He quickly snapped out of it, leaving Shirley slightly puzzled for a second, till she saw the looks of the others, and quickly went red, a nervous smile on her face.

"Wehehell,-" chuckled the engineer nervously "-Henry's tunnel is named after the engineer that stopped his train inside the said tunnel, because he was afraid that the rain would spoil his engines 'lovely green paint with red stripes'." Started Lukas.

"'Once an engine man,

his loco, attached to a train,

was afraid of a few drops of rain.

It went into an tunnel,

he made it screech through its funnel,

and he wouldn't let it out again.'

That's what the others created out of the story. Everyone argued with Henry, but he wouldn't get the train out of the tunnel. After trying to push and pull him and his engine out, they gave up, build a new tunnel, took away the wagon and the rails, and simply left him and his engine there. They would bring him food and water, but as a punishment for his stubbornness,he was left in the tunnel." Said Lukas. The others were shocked.

"They left him in the tunnel? All by himself?!" Asked Erica.

"Yeah. The fat director was a real 'no nonsense' fellow back then." Said Romstein with an small smile.

"But they did let him out afterwards? Otherwise we wouldn't have gotten through the tunnel, right?" Asked Trude.

"Oh yes, they let him out alright. That was when 'galloping sausage on wheels', better be known as the A1 at the front of the train, broke it's safety valve and Henry and his engine needed to rescue him." Laughed Lukas, just as a slight jolt went through the train. They looked out of the window, to see that they had arrived at Crovan's Gate.

"Huh, how time flies. Both traveling and normal time." Sights Lukas, as he looked at the train that stood on the opposite platform. It was a small narrow gauge train, with 4 blue coaches, and an small, Indian red engine at the front.

"Wow, that's a small train!" Smiled Erica.

"Oh yes, that's the Skarloey Railway, one of two narrow gauge railways on the island. Last time I was here, there were 3 engines, and 3 engineers on the line: Skarloey, with locomotive number 1 'Skarloey', Rheneas, with loco number 2 'Rheneas', and Proteus, with loco number 3." Explained the young captain, as a guards whistle blew, and both the express, and the narrow gauge train started off. But as they passed the small train, Lukas opened the window and waved to the small engine.  
"HELLO RHENEAS! I'M BACK!" He shouted, getting a whistle in reply.

"Welcome back young fellow!" Laughed a welsh voice from the small engine, as a man in his late 50s leaned out of the cab, waving his hat at the train, until it rounded a bent, and disappeared behind a wall.  
Lukas smiled as he looked after the small train, but was promptly pulled back into the train by Barkhorn.

"Are you crazy?! We are on an UNDERCOVER mission, remember?! You can't just shout through an window that we are here!" She lectured.

"Calm down will ya? It's not like anybody knows who we are, or from where we are. Most people of the island don't keep track with what happened over the last few months of the war, so they don't even know who we are, or what important part we have played in this war. We are normal civilians here." Smiled Lukas, but that faded when the brakes on the train came on.

"Huh? That's strange. The next stop is Knapford, and we aren't supposed to be there for another... 1 ½ hours." Muttered the engineer, as he stood up.

"Where are you going?" Asked Shirley.

"Just stretching my legs." Lied the fellow captain, as he got out of the compartment. He walked towards the carriage door, and stepped out, walking alongside the train towards the engine. When he got there, he saw how an man in blue coveralls and blue hat with black hair and blue eyes talked to an signal man. After a while, the signal man walked back to his box, and the driver turned to his engine, until he saw the Karlsland engineer.

"No, it can't be... Lukas?" Asked the Sudrian driver.  
"Long time no seen Gresley. Hope your engine hasn't failed again like last time." Smirked the Karlslander.

"No, and please don't remind me about that time. What are you doing here?"  
"Taking a little holiday with my Girlfriend and some of her friends. We wanted to go up the coast towards Arlesburgh tomorrow. How are things on the North Western?"  
"Pretty quiet. The war passed us pretty quietly so far. We also got a new engine and driver."  
"Oh? Who's that?"  
"A young fellow named Percy Avonside. He drives an small 0-4-0 Saddletank, shunts the coaches for us at the main station. He's quite a bug, but he's a good shunter." Replied the Sudrian.

"Why are we waiting right now? Don't tell me James broke another brake hose." Sighed Lukas.

"No, thankfully, not this time. One of the LMS engines took a goods train and got stuck on my hill. Edward already went to push, so the line should be clear soon." Explained Gordon.

Just then, the signal arm went up.

"Looks like it's time for me to go. See you in Knapford, and try to bring the train in on time, will you? No need to disappoint the fat director." Smirked Lukas, as he went to the first wagon.

"I'm always on time little Lukas. Get in Quickly now!" Boasted Gordon, as he climbed back into his engine. 

The train started off, and soon, they were racing through the Sudrian countryside. Lukas walked through the whole length of the train, passing through the restaurant coach, where he bought some coffee for the others, and went back to his compartment.

"So ladies, some refreshments, fresh from the restaurant." Grinned the engineer, as he gave out the coffee to the others.

"That's mighty generous from you." Smiled Minna.

" _Ach was_ , nothing less for the 'maiden of the skies'." Said Romstein, with an Britannian accent.

"Shut up." Smirked Shirley.

Lukas just grinned, and sat back into his seat.

The ride went uneventful after that. They passed small stations and went over a rather steep hill, till they finally reached the large station of Knapford. They slowly rolled into the first platform, and the passengers started to disembark from the train. The 501st took their time to get out, and gathered at the main square outside of the station.

"So, what now?" Asked Yoshika.

"We go to the hotel, get ourselves some rooms, and then we'll do some investigation around the town. Tomorrow, we'll go up to Arlesburgh, take the Mid-Sodor Railway till Arlesdale green, and then go hiking till we find something. Easy as that." Smiled Lukas.

They went towards the nearest hotel, and checked in. After storing their stuff, they split up and went on their way through the town. They were surprised when they saw how little the people in the town cared for the war, some of them didn't even knew that there was a war at all! Also, they were shocked to learn that there were nearly no witches in the town. Sure, the female part of the residents didn't wore pants, but the lag of witches sure surprised the girls. Lukas made his way towards the main station, heading for the drivers break room. Getting inside, he saw 4 people inside. One of them was Gordon, while the others were smaller, one only slightly, the other two more noticeably. They all stopped what they were doing when they saw Lukas in the door.

"Hello lads, how are things?" Smiled the engineer.

"Lukas? What are you doing here? I thought you were fighting in the war?" Asked the first of the other three, a man with brown hair and sky blue eyes, who looked like he was already past his 50s.

"I took a little time off from the fighting, to see if the NWR still stands, or if you already ripped it apart!" Laughed the engine man.

"Haha, very funny. We're doing just fine." Smirked the next one, who looked like he was in his early 20s, with light brown hair and electric blue eyes.  
"I was just joking Thomas. I see your branchline is still the most important part of the network?" Chuckled the Karlslander, stretching the second part of his sentence.  
"Of course! I don't know what the fat director would do without me on my branchline." Grinned Thomas.

"Probably have less problems with having a guard left behind at the platform, or with fish in one of his engines water tanks." Chortled Gordon, as Thomas went red.

"I see nothing has changed around here. And who is the young lad to your right Thomas?" Asked Lukas.

"This is Percy." Introduced Thomas. Percy was, like Thomas, in his early 20s, but he had dark ginger hair, and grass green eyes.

"Well then, welcome to the fleet Percy. And how are the others?"

"Well, James is still boasting about his red paint, and Henry is in hospital-"  
"Wait! Why is Henry in hospital?!" Asked the Karlslander, shocked.

"He took the Flying Kipper, and crashed with his engine into the back of an slow goods train. He was sent to Crewe, as well as his engine, so that he could be fixed up, and his engine to be rebuild. He should return in a few days though." Explained Gordon.

"And what about Glynn? And Neil?"  
"Glynn retired a few months ago, and Neil went with his engine back to Scotland." Said Edward sadly; he was fond of both drivers, having worked with them for over 20 years now.

"Too bad, I would've liked to see the two of them again." Said the captain sadly.

"Also, I have a question for you. Have you seen anything... different around this part of the island, or along the Arlesburgh branch line?"  
"I don't think so. There had been some slight increase of goods trains towards Arlesburgh, but that's because Sir Topham has planned to extend the railway towards Harwick." Said Thomas.

"I noticed something." Said Edward.

"What did you notice?"  
"I sometimes take goods trains from the Mid-Sodor down to Tidmouth. When I was there the last time, there were some people in strange uniforms, guarding one of the gunpowder train there. I thought they were from the mainland, so I didn't took much notice of it, but they did stick out of the mass... why do you ask?" Asked the elderly driver.

"Um, I just wanted to know if something happened with the line over the time I was gone. It was in the need of an permanent engine when I left after all." Said Lukas, hoping they would buy it.

They did, at least, it seamed like it. Just then, a man in his early 40s stepped into the room.

"Thomas? What are you still doing in here? Your next train is supposed to leave in 10 minutes!" Said the man.

"What?! Sorry sir! I'm on my way sir!" Said Thomas, and rushed out of the room.

"And who are you?" Asked the man, pointing at Lukas.

"Sir, that is Lukas Romstein. He worked here for a while for your father." Explained Edward.

"Oh. Welcome back to Sodor then, Mr. Romstein. I'm Richard Topham Hatt." Said the man.

"Good day sir. I'm happy to be back. But I must get on my way again. I have a busy timetable, and I know you have as well." Said Lukas, going towards the door.

"Quite right so. Uh, carry on." Said the bald man, slightly puzzled that the man left so quickly.

Lukas walked back to the hotel, only to notice how a pair of 'economy assistant' soldiers walked in front of him. Not wanting to let this opportunity slide, he followed them towards an warehouse that was next to the railway lines. He sneaked inside, only to see a load of those soldiers, carrying crates and boxes, filled with guns and munitions around, towards a string of trucks that stood in the middle of the warehouse. He hide behind an large crate, and looked around the edge it, to see two soldiers, taking a smoke.

"Ugh! I can't 'till we got all the weapons up to the base. I can't stand these bloody roads any longer! Back in Karlsland, we wouldn't even walk on these fields!" Grumbled the man.

"Ach, shut up! Be happy we don't need to carry the crates up there by hand! Why did they need to build that damned base so close to the railways anyways?! I can't get a good head of sleep because of those bloody locomotives!" Grumbled the other.

Just then, another man came up to them, grabbed their cigarettes and threw them to the ground. After scolding them for having an 'open flame' around life ammunition, he ordered them back to work. Lukas had heard enough and made his way towards the exit. But he quickly stopped, when he saw a group of men heading towards the door from the outside. Hoping they would get inside quickly was useless, as they waited outside the door. He grumbled to himself, looking around, searching for another exit. He saw that the door on the other side of the warehouse was still open, so he slowly made his way towards it. He had some near misses with some of the soldiers, when they came a bit too close for comfort to his location. But in the end, he got to the other side without any of the soldiers seeing him. He quietly climbed over the wall on the side of the warehouse, and quickly made his way back to the hotel. He gathered the others in one of the rooms, and gave them a quick briefing.

"Okay, so they are somewhere along the Mid-Sodor Railway. So the only thing we need to do tomorrow is to run down the whole length of the line, and see if there is any sign of a base." Concluded Erica.

"Pretty much, yes. So, you all go and grab a bit for dinner, and get your 40 winks. Tomorrow is a busy day, and we need to get up early, if we want to catch the first train on the Mid-Sodor. So, Trude, better set an extra alarm clock in your and Hartmanns room." Smirked Lukas, getting a groan from Erica.

"Quite your whining. Now off you go." Smiled the engineer, as the others left the room.

'Let's hope the guys in Orussia have as much luck as we have.' Thought Lukas, as he went out of the room himself, to grab a quick bite of fish and chips for dinner.

 **Okay, so the next chapter will set in Orussia, and I hope to make that one a bit more action filled than this one. Now, all of you who didn't noticed it: yes, Sodor as in Thomas and Friends. Don't cry about it having nearly nothing to do with Strike Witches: I needed a location where I can set a base, where nobody would notice it, and what better place than a mountainous landscape with nearly no description about it?** **Also, I tried to rebuild Sodor so it would more fit into the Strike Witches universe. If you don't like it, then that's okay, but please don't hate me for doing it. It's my story after all. Don't like it, don't read it. That's all I've got to say. For now, I'm out. Good night (Or day, whenever you read this)**


End file.
